There’s something about the rugged and inspiring environments of western mountain locales that seems to attract equally rugged and inspiring individuals. As a result, meetings or retreats held at mountain resorts gain added depth and value when they include time spent with a local guide, naturalist or historian.
Meetings Today spoke with some of the intriguing people who lead group experiences that unlock the secrets of the wild while providing insight on the beautiful places they call home.
McAvoy Layne
www.ghostoftwain.com
Long before he became a famous novelist, Mark Twain honed his writing skills as a young reporter covering frog jumping competitions and other goings-on in the California Gold Country, Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, Nev. Who meeting in the region today would not want to have Twain on hand to regale attendees with his special brand of humor and pithy observations?
The next best thing is to bring in McAvoy Layne, an award-winning Twain impressionist whose portrayals have appeared on the Biography Channel and PBS. Layne is also a frequent presenter at meetings, providing plenty of insights while attired as his alter ego during walking tours of Virginia City or at venues in and around the Reno/Tahoe area.
“The lucky thing is that Twain addressed every issue possible, so what I do is adaptable to a wide variety of situations,” he says. “For instance, if I’m talking to the Sierra Club or another environmental group about Lake Tahoe, there’s plenty that Twain said about Tahoe. Or if it’s to a group of lawyers or doctors, there are great comments from Twain that apply to them.”
Layne likes to consult with planners beforehand to customize his remarks for groups.
“For instance, it can be fun to work in someone like the CEO into the program,” he says.
Stuart Wilde
Wild Earth Llama Adventures
www.llamaadventures.com
Quiet, gentle and sure-footed, the llama is the “ideal hiking buddy,” according to Stuart Wilde, director and head wilderness guide for Wild Earth Llama Adventures in Taos, N.M. His company offers hikes with llamas, including half-day or full-day “Take a Llama to Lunch” experiences designed for groups meeting or based in Taos, Santa Fe or Albuquerque.
“What we do is nature’s teambuilding—wilderness experiences teach you a lot about leadership, cooperation and thinking clearly,” he says. “If there’s a sudden weather change, you work together to make a shelter. People are taken out of their element, but the llamas act as a bridge for this. Even people who are not outdoorsy enjoy having a cute, fuzzy hiking buddy to hang out with.”
While each experience is customized around group objectives and fitness levels, a highlight of the trip is always the gourmet buffet lunch in the wilderness, aided by the llamas, who transport the fixings. Wilde and the other guides are glad to share their knowledge of the edible and medicinal plants, geological features and cultural experiences found along the way.
“We come across numerous ancient cultural and historic sites on our hikes—the mountains and desert of New Mexico really tell a story,” Wilde says.
A.J. DeRosa
Jackson Hole Vintage Adventures
www.woodboattours.com
After decades as a whitewater rafting guide in Patagonia and other far reaches, A.J. DeRosa settled in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where he leverages his river expertise by running Jackson Hole Vintage Adventures. DeRosa arranges experiences for small to mid-size groups that combine a 90-minute float trip in handmade wooden boats with a sunset dinner at his secluded riverside camp.
“Our camp is totally off the grid—with teepees and a big dining tent in the forest with views of the Tetons,” he says. “We start with appetizers around the fire and move onto a sit-down dinner. You can have entertainers come in and sing cowboy songs. It’s a very intimate experience.”
With naturalist guides on hand, DeRosa says the float trip can be customized to reflect whatever the group wants to glean from the experience.
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Zebulon Miracle
Gateway Canyons Resort
www.gatewaycanyons.com
As the in-house Curator of Curiosity for the Gateway Canyons Resort in Gateway, Colo., anthropologist Zebulon Miracle enjoys facilitating activities that look beyond the surface of western Colorado’s stunning scenery.
“When you come here, the first thing you notice is the beautiful rock features—the palisades,” says Miracle, a native of the area and former curator of anthropology for the Museum of Western Colorado. “We want people to also see that there is 150 million years of history here. If I’ve done my job right, people will then take a closer look at their own environment at home.”
On customized hikes for groups, Miracle will point out features such as dinosaur tracks or sites pertaining to Native Americans and pioneers of the Old West. He works with planners to determine how an activity can tie in with the objectives of the meeting.
“One of my favorite activities with a group last year was a program called Tools of the Hunters,” he says. “I explained more about the different cultures that have called western Colorado home. We then gave people the raw materials to make their own stone tools and bows and arrows.”
Matt Mravetz
Wasatch Adventure Guides
www.wasatchadventureguides.com
Matt Mravetz, whose job title is Intergalactic Ringleader for Wasatch Adventure Guides in Park City, Utah, specializes in executive teambuilding for groups that have included Microsoft and Yellow Trucking.
“Putting people in an environment they aren’t normally in challenges them mentally and physically,” he says. “It’s also a great equalizer. The CEO will not always have the answers. The best suggestions for dealing with a situation may come from people much lower down on the ladder.”
Mravetz will typically start with a session that evaluates the objectives of the group to determine the activity best suited for those goals. The group is divided into teams for an activity such as teepee building, a timed GPS scavenger hunt or a mountain survival challenge. Evaluation and analysis of both team and individual performance is part of the process.
“I ask a lot of questions beforehand—what are you talking about this week?” he says. “What are you trying to accomplish? Then we can key in on this during the activity.”
Andrew Oser
Mount Shasta Retreats
www.mountshastaretreat.net
Andrew Oser facilitates spiritual and leadership retreats in Mount Shasta, Calif. Among his clients are business groups based at the Mt. Shasta Resort, about a four-hour drive north of the San Francisco Bay Area.
“A lot of my background involves training people to perform at the highest level—I’ve taken these concepts to apply to a business setting,” Oser says.
Along with classroom training, the retreat programs focus on Mt. Shasta, which is widely believed to be a vortex site with energy-giving qualities. The mountain’s peaceful environment is conducive for both self-knowledge and business strategizing, according to Oser.
“We’ll take a few hours to go up on the mountain to do some hiking and [enjoy] some quiet time where you can think about your vision for the company,” he says. “Then we’ll come back to the classroom where people can share the ideas they had.”
