About JHOLI

As an undergraduate professor, mountain guide, program director, television personality & host, corporate, instructor & SAR trainer, I have been teaching, training and leading people in the outdoors for the past 23 years. I founded, own and operate the Jackson Hole Outdoor Leadership Institute, Inc. An educational think tank devoted to developing and delivering curriculum in the areas of avalanche education and prehospital emergency medical training in the urban and wilderness environment. 

I was born and raised in the great state of Wyoming and am a life-long resident of Jackson Hole. Growing up having the Tetons and the Absaroka’s as a playground gave me a huge passion for remote wilderness locations. At a young age I knew that whatever I decided to do in life it had be based in the wilderness.

I was born in Japan to a military family, and by the time I entered school I was already living in my third country. This may have planted the seed for my love of travel.

I initially moved to Jackson the day after graduating high school to work in Grand Teton National Park. I then began splitting my time between Alaska and Jackson for the summers and winter, while going to university during the spring and fall seasons.  My friends finally convinced me to try Jackson year round. Other than the temporary relocating to the French Alps twice and Canada once (remember that travel bug?) Jackson has truly been my home for my adult life.

I have worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska, a volunteer climbing ranger on Denali, as an Urban and Wilderness EMT, a ski patroller, ski instructor, and as a ski, backpacking and wildlife tour guide. I am also a 20 year volunteer on Teton County Search and Rescue. In the summer you can find me climbing, hiking, biking, and the occasionally backpack trip.

I was born and raised in Dirty Durham, North Carolina.  I moved to Jackson for the winter of 2005-06 and decided this was home.  I’ve been a guide at Mad River Boat Trips since 2007 and working full-time for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS as a Firefighter/Paramedic. I am also a volunteer for Teton County Search and Rescue since 2015. My most recent adventure had been starting my own company Page and Company Collection based here in Jackson.

I enjoys skiing, snowboarding, biking, fly fishing, river sports, and just about anything outside with friends!

Dr. Smith practices Emergency Medicine in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and is Clinical Assistant Professor for the University of Washington School of Medicine, as well as the Medical Director for the US National Park Service.  Locally, he serves as the Co-Medical Director for Grand Teton National Park, Teton County Search & Rescue, Bridger Teton National Forest, and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.

Dr. Smith also serves as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps.  LTC Smith has practiced medicine around the world on 6 continents, from the ‘Baghdad ER’ to Easter Island.  His combat experience combined with his pre-hospital EMS experience as a Paramedic, and his technical Search and Rescue skills have lead to numerous speaking engagements at Wilderness and EMS conferences/seminars around the world.

Dr. Smith has also been appointed to several national committees (American Heart Association), authored numerous book chapters and consensus guidelines on Wilderness and Rescue Medicine, and serves as a Subject Matter Expert for DARPA. He has founded and runs Wilderness and Emergency Medicine Consulting (WEMC), LLC. More information can be found at www.wildernessdoc.com

AJ Wheeler, MD, FAWM, DiMM  is an Emergency Physician in Jackson Hole Wyoming and trail runner who enjoys all types of outdoor pursuits.  

Nancy Bockino grew up in the mountains of Idaho, Montana and Washington.  She began climbing, backcountry skiing and working as a field ecologist in the early 1990’s.  Nancy moved from the Cascades to Jackson Hole Wyoming in 2000 and fell in love with the mountains, whitebark pine trees and the local community.

Nancy keeps quite busy working as an ecologist caring for whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, an AIARE Level 1 and 2 Course Leader, a member of the AIARE Instructor Trainer Team, a professional member of the AAA, a part-time guide for Exum Mountain Guides, an instructor for Jackson Hole Outdoor Leadership Institute, an EMT and member of Teton County Search and Rescue and the rescue team at Grand Teton National Park.

Nancy also has a teaching certificate and a graduate degree in Ecology and Botany.  Gratefully so, Nancy spends nearly every single day in the mountains.  She has a passion for sharing the experience of the blissful freedom, happiness and empowerment that comes with knowing how to respectfully travel through and play in the mountains.

Ben got his start in the hills of the Midwest and became enthralled with the Tetons during his first visit in 2010. He visited regularly until planting roots in 2013. Since completing his undergraduate studies in Anthropology and Environmental Studies he has continued to further his education in pursuit of a career in the outdoors. He is a Wilderness First Responder, AIARE instructor and holds a Level 3 Avalanche Certification through AIARE. His exploration into snowboard-mountaineering has allowed for great introspection towards how he views the mountains. He strives to balance safety and ability to further his progress as a leader in the backcountry.

His aspirations are to continue exploring the mountains of the world while promoting safety on and off the snow.  He is most in his element while exploring the wilderness on snow, rock, dirt (and recently even water). His passion for the outdoors fuels his development as an instructor. He finds his way around the mountains via splitboard (aka: split-skiing) and will gladly show you how his mode of transportation is superior to the archaic two plank system. In his eyes, winter is always just around the corner. 

I’d call myself a full-time part-timer. I work as a mountain guide for OutdoorGearLab.com and as an educator in various outdoor contexts. I grew up in the Northeast. Lived most of my adult life in the Eastern Sierra of California. I’ve most recently put down roots in “Wydaho’s” Tetons and try to get to Alaska or South America for big mountains and to the Northeast for family at least once a year.

Kailey Mckenna grew up in the mountains, rivers and lakes of Maine, where she cultivated a life long passion for skiing. After participating in the NOLS outdoor educator semester in the Rocky Mountains she relocated to Durango Colorado to complete a degree in Adventure Education from Fort Lewis College. During this time she grew a deep passion for mountain travel including backcountry skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing and kayaking.

Kailey continued to grow her backcountry skiing education in the San Juan mountains of Colorado and the Tetons of Wyoming. She is a Wilderness First Responder and holds and AIARE 2 certification with continuing education of her AIARE ITC this winter season.  Kailey has worked as a sea kayaking guide, hard ice climbing assistant guide, wilderness therapy instructor, and general outdoor education instructor. She looks forward to advancing her role as an avalanche instructor and student of wild places.

I was born and raised in Marion, Massachusetts. After graduating from Colorado State University with a B.A. in journalism and technical communication, I moved to Jackson, Wyoming, where I found my true passion for medicine in an Outdoor Emergency Care course.

Since then, I have worked in three very different jobs—as a professional ski patroller at Snow King Mountain Resort, a Firefighter/EMT-Basic with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS, and a home-care provider for private clients—each of which represents an important facet of healthcare services in my community.