ESIA hosted the seventh annual Winter Adventure Series, January through March 2022. Educating, motivating, and inspiring attendees to explore the Eastern Sierra. The Winter Adventure Series was supported by June Lake Brewery, Mammoth Brewing Co., Mountain Rambler Brewery, Distant Brewing, The Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mammoth Lakes Recreation, and funding from Measure U.
January 20, 2022 // 7:00 p.m. “The Best Home Range in the World”
Tad McCrea: Alpine Explorer, Mountain Guide, Photographer
January 27, 2022 // 7:00 p.m. “Recovery Through Running”
Ryan Navales: Ultra-runner, President of Inyo Search and Rescue
Ryan found himself homeless in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles’s Skid Row after a decades long struggle with alcohol and drugs. Ryan was in and out of jail, rehabs, and unable to hold a job or provide for his young family. While homeless on Skid Row, he met a marathon-running LA Superior Court Judge and joined his running club. Unaware at the time of what was in store, he began training for what he thought would culminate in the upcoming LA Marathon, but 10 years later wound up being marathons on 5 continents, a 50 mile ultra, and a journey of a lifetime. Somewhere along the way he would find recovery, himself and discover his will to live was stronger than his fear of living sober.
February 3, 2022 // 7:00pm “Mountain Lions Demystified”
Phil Johnston: Mountain Lion Researcher, Professional Tracker, Outdoor Educator
Phil Johnston is a professional wildlife tracker, mountain lion researcher, outdoor educator, and Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife studying mountain lions and Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep in the Eastern Sierra. He tracks mountain lions throughout California’s diverse ecosystems with the goal of contributing to our scientific understanding of mountain lion ecology and behavior, and provides specialized training on wildlife tracking and animal behavior.
CANCELED: February 10, 2022 // 7:00 p.m “A Changing Homeland”
Ronda Kauk: Mono Lake Kutzadika Paiute
Ronda will be joined with her niece, Jazmyn, and they will tell us more about growing up in the Eastern Sierra and still being able to continue with their Native American traditions while living in this modern world. Having spent her whole life in this area and having stories of the past, Ronda will talk about how these changes to winter have affected her homelands. Ronda lives in Lee Vining, California.
February 17, 2022 // 7:00pm “Alone in the Mountains” (Two Presenters: Brooke Maushund and Anika Ramey)
Brooke Maushund: Jill of All Trades, Master of Fun, Snow Nerd, Ski Patroller, Member of YOSAR
Missing the mountains after working in Central America and Africa on off-grid solar projects, Brooke moved to Yosemite “just for the summer” to become a big wall climber five years ago… and never left (at least seasonally). Always on the lookout for ways to spend more time moving through the mountains, she now spends her winters ski patrolling, starting to teach avalanche courses, and volunteering at Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center as a key observer. She still spends her summers in Yosemite, now on Yosemite Valley’s Search and Rescue team, recently becoming way too much of an aid climber.
Anika Ramey: Wilderness EMT, YOSAR Member, Ski Patroller
February 24 , 2022 // 7:00 p.m “All Jokes Aside”
Eeland Stribling: Biologist, Outdoor Educator, Angler
March 3, 2022 // 7:00 p.m
Vitaliy Musiyenko: RN, Author, Explorer
