Foothills Volunteer Spotlight: Steve LeBrun

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to...

Name: Steve LeBrun
Hometown: New Britain, CT. AKA New Britski, Hard-Hittin’ New Britain, and The Hardware City (home of Stanley Tools).
Member Since: February 2002. I took the Alpine Scrambling Course during my first year as a member; it’s a great way to build a set of wilderness skills.
Favorite Activities: Hiking, Backpacking, Snowshoeing, teaching outdoor skills for the Foothills Branch, participating in The Mountaineers Global Adventures (Nepal, Patagonia, Peru, and New Zealand so far), and attending art and cultural performances (music, dance, theatre, and author readings).

10 Essentials: Questions

How did you get involved with the Mountaineers? 

After living in Seattle for 16 years, it dawned on me that I was not taking full advantage of the amazing opportunities to experience and enjoy our unparalleled outdoor and backcountry destinations. Joining The Mountaineers seemed like the perfect solution. 

What motivates you to get outside with us? 

The Mountaineers provides a safety-focused and sociable way to experience our parks and backcountry places. Being an active club member is a significant contributor to my overall personal quality of life.

What is your favorite Mountaineer memory? 

Several years ago I was leading a beginner’s hike to Rattlesnake Ledge. For many, that is an enjoyable, but rather mundane and unexceptional, hike. After we reached the ledge I noticed that one of the trip participants, a middle-aged woman, seemed to be gently crying. This is an immediate concern for a hike leader! I approached her and asked if she was okay and if I could help in any way. She replied that she was just overcome with emotion, and never thought she would be able to “climb a mountain” and look out over a sweeping outdoor landscape. That experience has always helped remind me not to take for granted any club member’s outdoor recreation aspirations or accomplishments. The Mountaineers exists to provide peak experience opportunities to all our members, be it through a short hike or the most technical of multi-pitch climbs.

Who/What inspires you? 

The sublime beauty of the outdoors, and how our wild places can invoke such awe, inner peace, and satisfaction. The joy of experiencing the great outdoors with others and the way those shared adventures build lifelong friendships. The satisfaction of wilderness adventure exertion and effort.

What does adventure mean to you? 

Adventure, for me, is being in wild and unfamiliar places, using either newly-acquired or complex backcountry skills, with an element of daring, challenge, or spontaneity.

Lightning Round

Sunrise or Sunset? Sunrise: there is nothing better than unzipping my backpacking tent fly as the sun is just starting to rise and just simply being there in the soft glow of the new morning.
Smile or game face? Smile.
What’s your happy place?  On the trail.
Post-adventure meal or choice? A fresh salad, especially after a multi-day backpack.
If you could be a rock star at any outdoor activity overnight, what would it be? So many possibilities, but being a skilled surfer (albeit on less than mega-waves!) or being a wilderness ultra-marathoner come immediately to mind.