Yosemite Chapter
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Email: yosemitechapter@americanalpineclub.org
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Meet your chapter leaders
Jonathan Meek -
Chapter Chair
For the first 18 years of his life, his family spent their annual vacations in Mammoth Lakes. Spending that much time in the Eastern Sierra made him develop a deep affinity and passion for the mountains. A Southern California native, he first was introduced to sport climbing in 2000 at Big Rock, Lake Perris.
Things quickly escalated and like many of us, began spending every free moment climbing around Southern California and the Eastern Sierra. In 2007, he laced up the boots, grabbed an ice axe and crampons and sought after some bigger alpine objectives. Two of his favorite California climbs are Lone Pine Peak’s North Ridge and Snow Creek on Mount San Jacinto. Ten years ago he and his family relocated to the Central Valley.
A two time Ironman triathlete, he spends his days as an executive in the logistics industry, living life on adventure with his wife and their four children, and building community as the owner of Alpine Climbing Adventure Fitness in Ripon, CA.
Paul Koubek - Advocacy Chair
Paul was born in Maine and was fortunate to spend his teenage years climbing, hiking and skiing in the White Mountains. He developed a taste for outdoor and seasonal work while working for the Trails Department of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and a taste for the open spaces of the American West while attending college in Oregon. After college, Paul began working in Outdoor Education and was employed for more than a decade by the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School and the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Paul first heard stories of the Sierra Nevada while climbing with Fred Beckey in the Canadian Rockies - Fred nearly blew his top when he heard that Paul hadn't climbed there yet! A fortuitous chance meeting with a Sierra Nevada native - the Dr. Breezy Jackson - while working in Antarctica led to Paul's decision to apply for work in Yosemite with Yosemite Search And Rescue. Paul and Breezy are now married and have been Yosemite based for more than a decade - where she Directs the University of California - Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Station and he works as an IFMGA-licensed American Mountain Guide for multiple employers, including the Yosemite Mountaineering School, California Alpine Guides, Alpine Ascents International and the American Mountain Guides Association. Paul is an elected member of the AMGA's Board of Directors and works on their Instructor Team.
As Yosemite Chapter Advocacy Chair Paul intends to effectively advocate for responsibly managed access opportunities for both guided and non-guided members of the public in our precious and well-loved Sierra Nevada.