Who is Steph?

My Motivations, Childhood Photos, Climbing Resume, Recovery Stories, Photography Equipment, and Publications

Climbing at Cochise Stronghold (AZ), Dec 2023.
Climbing at Cochise Stronghold (AZ), Dec 2022.
Self-portrait in stream bubbles, June 2023.

hi!

My name is Steph Abegg:

Climber—Photographer—Adventurer—Math&Data Nerd.

For as long as I can remember, I have been triply afflicted with an insatiable thirst for adventure, a persistent awe of the natural world, and a need to somehow document the world around me. I feel the most alive when I am in the mountains and outdoors, immersed in God's amazing handiwork.

In my life apart from climbing and outdoor adventure, I am a math & data nerd. From Sept 2014 to June 2019, I taught calculus at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In July 2019, I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I completed a Masters in Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder and in July 2022 took a job working as a Monitoring & Data Analyst for LongPath Technologies, an oil and gas monitoring service provider that uses revolutionary technology to detect gas emissions. I moved to Estes Park in March 2023, pursuing my dream of owning a small home nestled against the mountains. I am excited for all of the gripping data analysis, stunning mountain vistas, and awesome Colorado rock in my future.

Here's a timeline of where I have lived and my academic/career progression over the years.

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I began my website in 2006 as a means to display my nature and adventure photography, mainly as a platform to share with friends and family. Then I started to supplement the photos with detailed notes and beta, and my site evolved into an ever-growing wealth of trip reports from alpine climbs, road trips, and other outdoor exploits. I also use the website as an avenue to present a variety of unique projects I've dreamed up. My website has three primary sections:

□ Climbing Trip Reports

The bulk of my website is devoted to several trip reports from climbs (and some other adventures) I have done. Mountains have always been a part of my life. My parents met while backpacking in the Olympic Mountains in the summer of 1974, got married within a year, and proceeded to spend much of the 70s and early 80s trekking around Washington's rugged ranges. I was born in May 1983, and less than three months later they took me on my first overnight (and international!) backpacking trip near Mt. Temple, BC; I was eaten alive by bugs, but reportedly I had a smile on my face the entire time. My first real alpine climb was at the age of 11, when my parents and I climbed Overhanging Tower in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. My technical climbing skills developed during my undergraduate years at Stanford University (class of '06), situated just a few hours from Yosemite. Since then, I have lived numerous days following and continuing my parents' boot tracks, mountaineering and alpine climbing all over western North America and especially in the North Cascades of Washington (until 2019 at least, when I moved to Boulder). A serious climbing accident/injury in September 2010 forced me away from climbing for a couple of years, but soon as I could get back on the rock it seems I have been on an insatiable quest for adventure, with renewed motivation, appreciation, wisdom, energy, and strength. Climb on!

□ Projects

One of my hobbies, I suppose, is displaying data in creative ways. My website has a section devoted to some of my recent projects, which include labeled panoramas, route overlays, posters, diagrams, photo comparisons, statistical studies, and more. This has become a unique and surprisingly popular component of my website.

□ Photography

The original intent of this website (which has clearly developed into much more) was to display a collection of some of my photography. I bought my first point-and-shoot digital camera in 2002 and my first DSLR in 2005 (scroll below for more specific info on my camera and lenses). My recent focus has been on aerial photography and night photography. My photography has appeared in various publications, and I sell photo image files upon request.

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The scope and size of my website might be intimidating to those first discovering it, but as it has grown well past its initial vision and simple structure, I've endeavored to make it logically organized. Or, if you are the adventurous type, just navigate through the pages on a whim and enjoy whatever armchair adventures you find yourself on!

You can contact me (Steph) at sabegg@gmail.com.

My parents, 2 weeks married, July 1975.
My parents on the summit of Chair Peak, May 1978.
My parents on the summit of LeConte Mtn, Ptarmigan Traverse, July 1979.
My parents on the summit of Prusik Peak, 1979.
My parents (dad on left, mom on right, friend Ralph in middle) on the summit of the Grand Teton, 1982. 
My parents and 3-month-old me on a hike to Sentinel Pass, Canadian Rockies, 1983.
My parents and 11-year-old me after a climb of Overhanging Tower in the Wind River Range, 1994.
My parents on Walker's Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, 2013. I joined them on this two-week hut-to-hut hiking adventure.
Climbing at Cochise Stronghold (AZ), Dec 2021.
Cheyenne (11b, 160’, 1p, toprope solo)
Climbing at Fremont Canyon (WY), Jun 2020.
Climbing 20 minutes from my doorstep, at Eldo (CO), Nov 2019.
Rappel #1 (of 6) from Petit Grepon
Who cares about the rain, we summited! on Petit Grepon (CO), Aug 2019.
Top of Ellation, Ruth Mountain in background
On top of Ellation on Mamie Peak (WA), Oct 2018.
On top of Prusik. Smoke from foreset fires.
On top of Prusik Peak (WA), Sept 2017.
Steph on top of North Nesakwatch Spire. South Nesakwatch Spire and Rexford behind.
On a summit in the Nesakwatch Spires (BC), Aug 2016.
Climbing Liberty Crack (WA), Aug 2009.
On the first ascent of Thread of Ice on Twin Needles (WA), June 2009.

Photos 1983-2000

Being a kid was a blast. Mountains, eating dirt, petting geese, teaching my sister to escape her crib, living in Israel, building lego towers, putting berets in my dad's hair, fishing with my grandpa, playing with guns, climbing rocks, climbing trees, eating more dirt, teaparties with cats, backpacking with my parents, the gameboy phase, suffocating in outhouses, hiking with cousins, .....

the internet is full of cat photos and videos...

I share my mountain home in Estes Park with a cute furrball named Newt(on) (named after Sir Isaac Newton, one of the inventors of calculus).

I've concluded that I have a wild animal living in my home. Or at least a cat treat monster.
And another stuffed mouse bites the dust.
Resting up for his next mouse event.
Newt taken just a few minutes after his first (of hundreds....) mouse capture. (Look closely, he is laying on the mouse.)
A 50 cent cat toy.
A cute moment. Newt hiding with his cat toys after spotting a bear in the back yard.
I tutor calculus in the evenings. Looks like Sir Isaac Newt gave up. Or maybe he is just bored.
Classic cat. "You want me to do what? Nah..."
Newt peeking out of his access portal to the crawlspace full of mice.
Cats and boxes.

Climbing and professional resumes

The trip reports on my website are arranged by location. But it is also interesting to view my adventures in context of when I did them. My first alpine climb was in 1994 (when I was 11 years old!). My alpine adventuring really picked up pace around 2006 and it has been a chronic affliction ever since. For a complete chronological list of my climbing exploits, go to my Trip Report Chronology. 

Also, here is a link where you can download my Resume detailing my academic and professional background. I'm somewhat of a free agent for my future career path, so if you think "she'd make a great addition to our team", please contact me.

Recoveries from a Tib/Fib Fracture (2010), ACL+MENISCUS Knee surgery (2020), and Covid-19 (2021)

In September 2010, I suffered a severe tib/fib compound fracture, caused when a rock broke lose while I was climbing Vesper Peak in the North Cascades of Washington. Full of frustrating setbacks and dangerous complications (I nearly lost my foot on two separate occasions), my injury and the resulting recovery was both the most challenging and the most life-enriching mountain I've ever climbed. Click on the link below to read my "Recovery Trip Report #1", a day-to-day account spanning the first year of my recovery. 

In late August 2020, I faced another long-term recovery when I blew out my knee while descending from a climb. With an excellent surgeon, dedicated physio, and motivation, I was back and climbing carefully within 4 months and had another great alpine season in Summer 2021 less than a year from surgery. Click on the link below to read my "Recovery Trip Report #2", a year-long account from the day I blew out my knee to one year post surgery.

In Fall 2021, I came down with the dreaded COVID-19 that had swept across the globe for nearly two years at this point and seemed to have no end in sight. COVID hit me pretty hard (although not as hard as it hit some). I was hospitalized for 5 days, and the recovery took a few months to get back to normal. I proceeded to write "Recovery Trip Report #3" to document my experience with this nasty virus.

Recovery Trip Report #1: Tib/Fib Fracture

2010-11


A day-to-day account spanning the first year of my recovery from a serious tib-fib fracture resulting from a climbing accident

Recovery Trip Report #2: Torn ACL+Meniscus

2020-21


Recovery from a Knee Injury (Torn ACL + Torn Meniscus)

Recovery Trip Report #3: COVID-19

Fall 2021


Recovery from COVID-19

Fasting and Keto

Over the years, I've gained a greater appreciation for how nutrition plays an important role in heath and fitness, and how your diet can really become a big player in your lifestyle. Throughout the early 2000's, my diet evolved from high-sugar processed foods to salads and protein shakes. Although I had always performed at a high level on whatever I ate, my overall body began to feel much better. In 2017, my I began to experiment with fasting and the ketogenic diet. It had initially begun as a way to try to heal some gut problems I was dealing with, but I soon began to realize the positive effects on athletic performance, specifically energy and endurance. The ketogenic diet and occasional fasts have become a part of my lifestyle. Click the link below to read a "trip report" for a 7-day fast I did in 2018, where I discuss my experiences with fasting and the ketogenic diet. 

Photography equipment

SLR Fun at basecamp.
My computer is an essential piece of my photography setup.
"Climbing camera" setup (ELPH 160 on left, RX100 on right).

I cannot seem to go climbing without a camera. Here is a list of my photography equipment.

CURRENT CAMERAS:

For a full list of all of the cameras and lenses I have owned, their specifications, as well as a summary of the weight of my camera setup, see the following page:

Some of my publications

A list of my climbing- and photography-related publications.

Photo Appearances in various Guidebooks, Compilations, Magazines, Articles, etc.

Publications

Articles

Publications

Climbing-Related Statistical and Other Nerdy Studies

Publications

Self-Published Books

Publications