Biography • Motivations • Growing Up • My Cat • Publications
Mountain adventure has always been a part of my life.
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 exciting climbing adventures in my future.
Here's a timeline of where I have lived and my academic/career progression over the years:
1983: Vashon Island, Washington. Born on May 14 in Tacoma General Hospital, WA to two loving parents.
1984-1987: Jerusalem, Israel.
1987-1992: Cincinnati, Ohio.
1992-1995: Winona Lake, Indiana.
1995-2002: Abbotsford, British Columbia.
2002-2006: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California: Bachelors in Engineering Geology, Minor in Mathematics, Minor in Astrophysics.
2006: Begin my website.
2006-2007: Civil Engineer, Dayton & Knight, Ltd., Abbotsford, British Columbia.
2007-2008: Geotechnical Engineer, Golder Associates, Ltd., Abbotsford, British Columbia.
2008-2010: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington: Masters in Civil Engineering.
2011-2012: Research Engineer, Janicki Industries, Inc., Sedro-Woolley, Washington.
2012-2014: Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington: Masters in Mathematics.
2014-2019: Adjunct Math Instructor at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington.
2019-2022: University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado: Masters in Applied Mathematics.
2022-2024: From July 2022 to June 2024, I worked as a Monitoring & Data Analyst at LongPath Technologies, an oil and gas monitoring service provider based in Boulder, Colorado that uses revolutionary technolgy to detect methane gas emissions. After two years of working for LongPath, I decided to establish myself in the career of data analyst by enrolling in a 6-month Data Analytics Bootcamp at the University of Denver.
2021-present: I tutor math for local students and on various online platforms. I find it rewarding to use my teaching experience to help students build confidence and improve their skills.
March 2023-present: In March 2023, I bought a house (my first home purchase) in Estes Park, Colorado.
Jan 2025-present: After completing a data analytics bootcamp, I’ve been actively seeking to re-establish myself in a career role, though the current job market has been particularly challenging. In response, I’m planning to rent out my home in Estes Park and relocate to Washington or British Columbia to be closer to family and explore new opportunities for both work and housing that better support long-term stability. (On a personal note—if you happen to know of job openings or rental opportunities in the Leavenworth area, I’d love to hear from you!)
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:
□ 1. CLIMBING TRIP REPORTS. The bulk of my website is devoted to hundreds of trip reports from climbs (and some other adventures) I have done. 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!
□ 2. 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.
□ 3. 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 primary photography interests over the years have been bird, macro, aerial, 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!
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 barrettes 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, .....
Mountain adventure has 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.
