All the water below me came from above. All the clouds living in the mountains gave it to the rivers, who gave it to the sea, which was their dying.
David Whyte
Alaska Wilderness Project Mission Statement
Alaska Wilderness Project is an acting platform to amplify the voices of the people and their land, champion restorative narratives, and to embolden a future where anyone can pursue their own vision in the mountains.
Alaska Wilderness Project Founders
Benjamin Lieber
Co-Founder of Alaska Wilderness Project
@bennylieb
alpinebenny.com
Benjamin Lieber is a climber. But climbing doesn’t happen in the design studio. So, in 2016 Benny radically redesigned his life, throwing away sketchpads and sticky notes to begin prototyping a greater design project: A life in the Alpine.
Surely this came at a worthwhile cost. Moving from the comfort of an apartment in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia to an old rusty trailer at the foot of Mt. Rainier, trading in dress shirts and slick shoes for wool tops and mountain boots: the contrast was stark.
Since then Benny has lived adventure to it’s fullest both personally and as a guide. Living in a trailer, a canvas tent in Alaska, and a station wagon everywhere else, sleeping bags and backpacks are now a way of life. Climbing has brought him from the crevassed slopes of the Cascades, to the frozen waterfalls and frigid temps of New Hampshire & Montana, to a lifelong relationship with Alaska’s desolate mountains and even to New Zealand’s Southern Alps, the Nepali Himalaya, & the French Alps. Alaska has become home much of the year, though the continual change of location inside the state makes it more of an adventure-destination than a traditional home.
As a young child Benny’s heroes were that of exploration; Bradford Washburn, Ernest Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hillary. The reconnection to this passion in 2016 is blooming now with the Alaska Wilderness Project and Benny is staged for his own vision in Alaska. With a background in Product Design & Service Design, Benny combines his alpine adventures with design skills to offer marketing assets, creative direction, and product feedback to brands in the outdoor industry. With a fascination of literature & history, Benny writes narratives of his travels. As a member of the Protect Our Winters’ Athlete Alliance, Benny advocates for the protection and preservation of land and strives to inform our communities about changing climates through his experiences.
Alex Joseph Hansen
Co-Founder of Alaska Wilderness Project
@alexjosephalpine
alexjosephalpine.com
Alex Joseph Hansen is an alpinist and professional photographer. Similar to most people who find themselves on this life path his early trajectory didn’t foreshadow his current career. It started as a classic example of the cliché, post-college thought process of needing to enter the workforce full-time. Student loans were not going to pay themselves after all. Alex is an economist by trade, but ‘wasting’ time on his university’s climbing wall and reading about the world’s Greater Ranges instead of attending career fairs and updating his resumé didn’t bode well for working at a leading consulting firm. Instead, he traded in his degree in economics for a Project Management position with an online outdoor media publication.
As a lead Project Manager, Alex was the main contact between the publication and highly sought-after outdoor industry brands. His work included crafting media campaigns, building marketing tactics, and helping brands tell their story. Eventually, Alex was in a stalemate with himself, yearning for a life in the mountains. He decided he wanted to be the person going on the big expeditions, the athlete on the cutting edge, instead of crafting stories about them.
During Winter 2020 Alex quit his job and moved into a van to pursue that lifestyle. Since transitioning to a full-time climber and photographer, he has traveled much of North America climbing trade routes while simultaneously searching out new lines on its wildest peaks. Throughout the past few years, Alex has formed a uniquely intimate relationship with the expansive mountains and valleys of Alaska, and can often be found exploring the state’s furthest reaches. He splits his time between “The Last Frontier” and Colorado, often attached to a rope and drinking a lot of espresso along the way. Alex strives to unite alpinism and photography into something bigger than the activities themselves.
It all began with an idea. How can we transform our passion for this land and its people into something bigger than ourselves? What started as–and still is–a deeply-rooted love for the mountains evolved into a creative project that we could share with the greater community. Equal parts educational and explorative, Alaska Wilderness Project was born. We’ve set fire to the path and can’t wait for the journey ahead.
Meet the additional team members and creatives behind Alaska Wilderness Project
Austin Schmitz
Photographer // Explorer
@austinschmitzphoto
austinschmitz.com
Austin Schmitz is a picture-maker. Several years ago this Florida Man escaped his home peninsula with a camera, a vision, & a Prius. Since that day Austin has been a dedicated photographer, capturing climbers in their purest moments and producing work for an array of industry-leading brands. Don’t be fooled however, this camerman comes to climb & if you’re out at the crag or in the alpine with Austin, chances are you’re going to the top… with a smile on your face! Austin’s contagious energy has made him a friend of many climbers & we are all psyched to watch his journey in both climbing and his creative craft. His strength, both mentally and physically, yield a valuable team member on any adventure.
Lindsey Hamm
Climber // Explorer
@hamminator2017
Lindsey “The Hamminator” Hamm is an Aspiring Mountain Guide who works for Sierra Mountain Guides out of Bishop, CA. She began climbing in 2010. She has been a prominent force in the guiding community for the last 5 years. She is striving to achieve her International Federation Mountain Guide Association Pin (IFMGA). She has guided all around Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Washington, Alaska, and California. And was award the 2016 GORE-TEX Scholarship for an AMGA course and the Rock Guide Discipline from ARC’TERYX and the 2019 American Alpine Club McNeil-Knott Grant to go back to India to finish out a route in Zanskar, India.