The Speakers

Emily Ford
Saturday Keynote Speaker

Emily Ford is an aspiring winter adventurer and thru-hiker based in Duluth, Minnesota. She has completed many thru-hikes in the midwest including the 1,200 mile Ice age trail, which crosses Wisconsin east to west from Potawatomi State Park to St. Croix State Park on the Minnesota border. Also, in the winter of 2022 she completed a solo 180-mile ski route across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Wilderness with her Alaskan Husky, Diggins. With an understanding and drive to show that anyone can adventure and everyone deserves to discover the outdoors, regardless of race, gender identity, or upbringing, she continues to seek adventure and represent the underrepresented in outdoor spaces.

Ken Hupila and Tom Deering
Friday Keynote Speakers

Ken was born and raised in Northern Minnesota. The local climate was included in his genetics, and he learned to live in and enjoy the cold from a young age. Living fourteen miles from the nearest town meant that winter recreation revolved around ice-fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and building snow forts and igloos.

Ken moved to Ely to teach at Ely Memorial High School in 1978. Outdoor activities during all seasons remained important to him. His summer job soon became guiding in the BWCA, spending up to forty days a summer on the water guiding for his own “Red Pine Guiding” company as well as many of the Ely outfitters. When not guiding, personal trips put him into the backcountry of the Boundary Waters and Quetico many more days a year. Winter recreation took a serious turn during that first winter of 1978-79 when Tom Deering skied across his yard on a Saturday morning in December. A friendship developed and it wasn’t long before similar interests took them on adventures up to and including winter camping. Early efforts were primitive, and honestly, have remained so over the years.

Tom is a low-tech winter camper with roughly 50 years of winter trips under his belt. Winter trips into the canoe country of northern Minnesota and Ontario have always been one of the highlights of his outdoor year. He is excited to have the chance to share a few memories from a life well spent at the upcoming winter camping symposium.

Besides numerous winter trips, open water canoe trips for the two became a staple once or twice a summer and included a 500-mile paddle down the Albany River to James Bay in 2006 that lasted 27 days. Nearing our middle 70’s, we still get out every year during open water and on the snow and ice.

Besides teaching, Ken is also a professional photographer – Snotty Moose Studio – and has also authored three books about his experiences in the outdoors.

Pam Wright

As a child of camp directors, Pam Wright’s early life was steeped in the outdoors of eastern Montana and woodlands of northern Minnesota. For the past 20 years she’s been adventuring and leading others into the BWCAW and other backcountry locations throughout the US and Canada. When she’s not dipping a paddle, she enjoys ultra-running, winter camping and backpacking. She takes joy in introducing everyone to the beauty of the north country, hoping that they too will be caught in the wonder of the wild. She currently works as a guide for Women’s Wilderness Discovery in Ely, MN as well as a volunteer leader for Thrive Women’s Outdoor Adventures, Hudson, WI.
Soka Outdoors

Kevin Estela

Kevin Estela is a lifelong outdoorsman who grew up in New England. Born into a great family, he was inspired by his father who survived in the jungle of the Philippines during WW2. Kevin developed a passion for the great outdoors at a young age and carried it through life. In his early teens, he began kayaking and canoeing and spending more time on the river before becoming a guide and instructor.

Kevin taught high school history for 14 years at Bristol Central High School and split his time working as a professional survival instructor at the Wilderness Learning Center when the school calendar allowed. As a professional teacher, Kevin learned to address the needs of students and built a reputation of trust, respect, and dedication to his craft.

A student for life, Kevin continues to train with the best, travels internationally to numerous countries seeking adventure, and field-tests equipment in every environment. He has partnered with premier manufacturers in the outdoor space and continues to bring products to market driven by the real needs of those in the field.

In 2018, Kevin wrote a best-selling survival skills book after hundreds of published bushcraft articles in dozens of magazines. He continues to write for multiple publications and blogs and has added spoken media to his resume in the form of podcasts of which he has been the guest of and hosted hundreds of episodes.

Today, Kevin is a highly sought-after trainer, speaker, and author in the outdoor community, interacting with and educating thousands each year while sharing his passion. His goal is to inspire people to overcome adversity and hardship in their lives and live well with purpose.

Melanie Olson

Melanie discovered winter camping about four years ago when she fell in love with a man who led her into the woods. Since then, she’s embraced the challenge of making the outdoors a little more comfortable by entertaining her wild ideas and designing bougie solutions to everyday camping problems.

Melanie does not claim to be an expert camper, but she is exceptionally good at looking at a challenge and thinking, “There has to be a better way!” As an educator of 22 years, Melanie enjoys sharing her creative process with others and is eager to share one of her favorite winter camping creations: a lightweight, packable pillowcase that proves you can enjoy a little luxury even in the middle of the woods.

Curt Isaacson

Curt is an avid craftsman, winter trekker and photographer from Omaha, Nebraska. He’s been exploring the outdoors since childhood and developed an early knack for making and modifying his own gear. He enjoys promoting the intersection of the oft-forgotten tools of traditional craft and outdoor travel, especially as they relate to winter. Curt has fond memories of growing up working alongside his father in the woodshop while learning to tend the wood stove at the heart of it. His grandfather Karl Isakson immigrated from Kisa, Östergötland County, Sweden, giving Curt a deep appreciation for the culture, tools and lifestyle of Scandinavian peoples. He serves as an ambassador for Hults Bruk Axes of Sweden (also in Östergötland County). He's also an affiliate maker with RMP Finishes. You can find them all on Instagram - @4esttrekker @hultsbruk1697 @rmpfinishes

Pete Brautigam

Pete Brautigam has been a winter camping symposium board member since 2020. He is an avid winter camper in the back country pulling his toboggan solo or with a crew. Owner of Brautigam Expedition Works LLC. He will be sharing information that get into the science of our gear and his solo travels.

www.brautigamexpeditionworks.com

Ryan Fox

Ryan has been on the Winter Camping Symposium Board for the past 10 years. He is a husband, father, and an avid outdoorsman. In the Winter he can usually be found on trail pulling a toboggan, or in a canvas tent, having a staring contest with a wood stove. Ryan has been teaching the Hot Tent 101 course for the past several years as well as a first time toboggan travel class. If you're new to Winter Camping, you don't want to miss these classes.

Greg Wilcox

Greg Wilcox is the co-founder of Country Ways and for the past twenty-five years has brought us the very best in showshoe kits and finished outdoor equipment. Greg will be teaching a seminar on snowshoe lacing and repair.

James Bishop

Jim Bishop lives in Spooner, WI. is a long time winter camper whose excursions focuses on lakes with fish. He has ice fished in Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and Lake Superior. A board member of FISH - Friends Into Spooner Hatchery - a friends group of the state hatchery, where they put on fishing programs for youth and elderly. He is retired Public Affairs Manager with the WI- Department of Natural Resources.

Ben Piersma

Ben’s full time job is testing, researching, and selling tools and outdoor goods for life in the north woods. He uses hand tools like axes, hand-saws, and knives daily for fishing, hunting, foraging, self reliance, and primitive bushcraft. His goods can be found at Bensbackwoods.com

Jason Gustafson

Jason Gustafson, founder and owner of Lester River Bushcraft (LBR), born and raised in Minnesota; living in Duluth since 1997. While LRB is primarily now known for the 100% wool Boreal shirt, it started with a different intent. I am fascinated with primitive skills and adapting to modern day bushcraft. I’ve trained with Mors Kohanski in the states and on location via Karamat in Edmonton, Canada. I continue to work on expanding my skill base and put those skills to use while camping and hiking year round.

Sydney Tanner and Jim Nosker

Sydney Tanner and Jim Nosker are Azen Lodge Outfitters and Winter Camping Symposium board members. They’re parents of 10 children, have been cooking together, for groups, for decades. They’ve camped from coast to coast, from the rain forests of Central America to the Arctic Circle, in all seasons. They’ve hiked, backpacked, run dog teams, skied, showshoed, canoed, kayaked, hunted, fished and trapped at one time or another throughout their lives and have been long term Boy Scout leaders.

They will be hosting the kids program this year.

Roger Pilsner

Although father time is catching up with me, my bushcraft, trekking, and winter

camping skills are on par with many of you. Instead of trying to offer a workshop

that many have already beat to death, I prefer to offer skills you should refine

before ever attempting to head out. My knowledge of tools, metallurgy,

manufacturing technology and how to apply all of that into simple but practical

tasks and items for use in the outdoors is something I hope to pass on. Let me

share my understanding of “sharp”, and why it changes with each application or

tool. K.I.S.S. and right tool for the task. I enjoy manufacturing very high-end

woodworking tools as my income. Simple tools but practical to create: a hand

carved wooden spoon, a wooden mug, a walking stick, a canoe paddle, birch

shrink pots, camp stools, wooden boxes, and all the other little things that make

life not just about surviving but thriving out there. I believe too many people have

the assumption that it is more about survival and needing the most expensive

latest technology and I seriously want to dispel that. I have trained with Alaskans

and Finish Sammi that live that life 24-7-365 and have figured out how to be

comfortable in some pretty harsh conditions. They did not have a PhD or wrote 20

books, but simple practical skills made all the difference.

Chad Nelson

Chad Nelson has been exploring wild places since childhood. Inspired by family adventures growing up, he developed a lifelong passion for wilderness travel on foot, by snowshoe, canoe, kayak, and bike. From local micro-adventures to extended backcountry expeditions, Chad feels most at home outdoors specifically on the water whether it is liquid or ice and snow.

He enjoys sharing adventures with his daughters, family and friends, learning from fellow travelers, and helping others build the skills and confidence to pursue their own wilderness journeys. Chad believes that some of life's best experiences are found in wild places, and that the memories, connections and bonds forged there often last a lifetime.

Andy Wright

Andy Wright calls himself an “outrovert”; one who’s energized by and most at home in the outdoors. As a lifetime wilderness camper, he’s written extensively about the Boundary Waters (including how to eat really, really well there). Recent years have seen Andy teaching about foraging wild edibles, inspiring others through foraging hikes, classes and online content.

Kevin Kinney

Empire Wool and Canvas Company

https://empirecanvasworks.com/

Kevin Kinney is the owner of Empire Wool and Canvas Company. He's a pathologically creative outdoor industry veteran who's equally at home

in the mountains, on trail, or on the water. Kevin works from his cottage home in Duluth, MN.

Josh Borchardt

I currently teach science and college physics at Denfeld High School in Duluth, MN, and am a former research scientist in academia, NASA-ARC, and private research labs in environmental and space sciences and astronautics.

I began my career exploring the planet as a professional SCUBA diver in the early 2000s, completing hundreds of dives on Lake Superior shipwrecks and the Cuyunna Mines. Since then I have developed a keen interest in mountaineering around the United States, Canada, and Argentina, as well as dogsledding trips and countless winter excursions into the BWCA.

Since 2020 I have switched my focus to pulk trips across the biggest lakes in Minnesota and am beginning to venture into the Canadian north. I’ve done all manner of winter trips and expeditions to temperatures up to -50F and have plenty to share and teach about my successes and failures in the hard and soft water world of outdoor exploration.

Jonah Lottig

Jonah Lottig is the Operations Manager at Snowtrekker Tents. Jonah oversees the business operations ensuring each canvas tent is a testament to quality and durability. Committed to innovation and sustainability, I lead Snowtrekker in delivering the best canvas tent solutions for your outdoor adventures. Growing up with Snowtrekker from it’s inception by his dad Duane Lottig and now helping customers choose the right tent to fit their camping needs. Drawing on his knowledge of winter camping from a young child to now along with his backcountry adventures in the western mountains. Lets elevate your camping experience together by learning what to look for and not look for when choosing a hot tent.

Snowtrekker Tents

Irene Henderson

Irene Henderson, English teacher at Virginia High School in Virginia, Minnesota. I have always had a deep love for nature and the outdoors.

I have walked on winter traplines. I fish, hunt, hike and snowshoe. The sight, sound and smell of a wood fire is one of my favorite things. Add a book and a cup of tea to that and I am in ecstasy. I really like hot tenting. I hope to do more winter camping in the future.

Michael Maruska

Michael Maruska has been an avid winter camper for over 20 years. He has designed and crafted more than 30 ‘modern traditional’ canvas winter hot tents, including micro-yurts, A-Frames, hoop tents, spike tents, and various double-wall styles. An ISA Certified Arborist, Michael works for the City of Superior Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department and has also worked with the US Forest Service in both the BWCAW and remote central Idaho. He enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife Elizabeth and their two young sons Iver and Otis.

Dean McLeod

Dean is natural born educator and adventurer with an infectious passion for sharing the outdoors with others. He has insights on winter camping that can only be gained through spending 20-50 nights/winter outdoors over a career that has stretched 50+ years. In addition to epic trips for 450km down the ice of Lake Winnipeg, he has spent a lifetime introducing others to the outdoors in all seasons and conditions from the Yukon to Wyoming, British Columbia to Quebec, but especially in Manitoba. Dean has built and slept in quinzhees every year since 1968 - some years he has built up to 36! Definitely a quinzhee nerd!

Amy and Leigh Hunter

Fun fact, between the two of us, we have over 80 years of t-shirt wearing experience.

We started screen printing during the pandemic as a way for us to our creative wiggles out. Leigh spends way too much time making memes, so this was a natural leap to more shenanigans.

I (Amy) find myself involved in the tech support, printing onto the transfer sheets, advising on the art work, shopping at our local thrift store for blanks and emotional support.

We also make canvas bags as a hobby. The canvas is recovered from the dumpster at one our work place, the reinvented (un-stiched and sewn back together) into shopping bags. We found that these bags were perfect for screen printing & a way to keep something out of the landfill. A huge lot of these bags have found themselves in the homes of various co-workers, loved ones and WCS participants. We also donate many to our beloved local food shelf, where they let us hang out and mop out the walk in cooler from time to time. We look forward to hanging in the basement with you and making whatever you bring a little better.

Joshua Stamper

Joshua Stamper is a pasture based livestock farmer, scientist, former backcountry guide, and has slept in many hollow logs. Joshua lives to ski and explore the frozen rivers that drain into lake Superior. The Stamper family (and their many fine hogs) live on a glacial sandbar high above Lake Superior.

Eli Lottig

Eli has spent over 20 years working in commercial kitchens. He uses techniques and skills learned to make camp cooking easy and delicious.

Blake Ferree

Originally from North Carolina, Blake started coming to Ely, Minnesota in 2016 seasonally to enjoy living and working in the Boundary Waters. He now lives there year-round, managing Northern Tier High Adventure’s Okpik Program. Before moving into a management role, Blake worked at Northern Tier seasonally as a musher and winter camping guide, leading scout trips in the Boundary Waters. His preferred winter activity is bikejoring with his retired sled dog Cali, or skijoring when going into the Boundary Waters

Brock Hanson

Brock Hanson is the founder of Orrock Outdoors, an outdoor education business built around practical skills, real experience, and hands-on learning. A Wilderness First Responder and certified instructor for CPR and Wilderness & Remote First Aid, Brock brings safety and preparedness into every class and adventure.

From building fires and navigating with map and compass to camping, cooking over an open fire, and responding to emergencies, Brock believes confidence comes from knowing what to do when conditions change.

Build the skills. Gain the confidence. Expand your adventure.

Paige May

Paige move to Ely to attend college in 2007, and never looked back. He started working as a dogsledding guide for White Wilderness Sled Dog Adventures immediately after finishing school and is currently approaching his 17th season there. He spends 40+ nights every winter cold camping as a guide, and spends as many days off as possible targeting lake trout through the ice.

He also spent 9 years as a sea kayak guide in the apostle Islands on Lake Superior, and became a knife maker specializing custom Nordic style knives.

He now works the open water season as a fishing guide for Rob Nelson's Ely Fishing Guide Company.

Jeff Hasse

Veteran paramedic, wilderness enthusiast, Scoutmaster, Search Manager for missing persons cases, and through hiker (the 487 mile Colorado Trail).

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