Don Whitaker Interview

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1) What is your favorite place that you have been to on the planet?

Grandaddy Lake in the Ashley National Forest in the Uintas. The clay-red bare mountains carve into the evergreen forests that occasionally expose themselves to hidden, quiet lakes where you take very deep breaths, because of the views, and the altitude!

2) Do you shoot pictures with a digital or film camera?

Funny you ask...digital camera...and I have been through 4 this year. I just rcvd my latest, a Canon S5 IS. Two previous ones bit the dust (literally) from sand storms in southern Utah this Summer and Fall; and one accidentally dropped on its side on a rock, hiking in the Pyrenees this past Spring.

3) When you have 2 hours to squeeze an activity on a Saturday morning, what do you do?

It's winter right now, so friends and I head up to Parleys Canyon to Mountain Dell Rec Area and Cross Country Ski. In the Summer I ride my Vespa up to Mill Creek Canyon and hike around Grandeur Peak and other back trails.

4) What is the number one reason why you don’t get outside as much as you’d like?

I am fortunate. I do get outside, just about every day -- weeknights even, after work -- even in Winter.

5) Where would you build your ideal vacation house?

Zermatt, Switzerland.

6) What adventure, that you have yet to do, is number one on your list?

Patagonia. Next Winter. Question is Chilean side, or Angentinian side.

7) What is the most significant gear invention?

The bra for camera's, which I just discovered at REI 2 weeks ago. Now you literally do not see me without the camera bulging from my chest when I am at play. But let me tell you, I get the shots, having it at arms length, just pop off that lens cap.

8) What is your number one priority when buying a car?

Obviously not looks -- as I drive a Honda Element -- which was referred to today by someone as looking like a 1950's Milk Truck, gone awry. But it is the damn best car I ever owned. Simple. Flexible. Practical. Economical. 4WD. Hose out the interior -- and you're ready for your next adventure!

9) What do you do to enhance your outdoor fitness?

Do it indoors. I swim with QUAC (Queer Utah Aquatics Club) three times a week. Great sport. Great guys. What's wrong with hanging out with 20 year olds in Speedo's after an hours' workout?

10) What was your scariest moment on an outdoor adventure?

If paragliding qualifies, then that would have been it -- I simply couldn't look down -- but looking OUT over the Ocquirre mountains to the West and the Uinta's / Wasatch ranges (who really knows the difference?) is awe-inspiring. I could've fainted at any moment by gazing down though. Probably would've lost my cookies too! But worth every minute!