Meet Our Tour Leaders

Rich Montagna - Owner and Lead Tour Guide: I moved to Alaska in 1977 to pursue my love of the great outdoors and graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a degree in Natural Resource Management and a minor in Outdoor Recreation Management. I also developed a passion for photography and studied commercial photography at the Academy of Art S.F and Brooks Institute of Photography. After graduation I worked in the recreation and land management fields with Alaska State Parks, the Department of Natural Resources and several Alaska Native organizations. I also spent much of my time traveling around the state photographing landscapes and interesting people I met and have exhibited my landscapes and portraits in the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the Alaska State Museum, and numerous smaller museums and galleries in Alaska and British Columbia.

In 1984 I moved to the village of McGrath to work with one of the Native organizations there. I built my log home in McGrath and now split my time between McGrath and coastal British Columbia. I have published several articles about the mining history and Native lifestyle of this region and will make your tour as informative as it is enjoyable. When I'm not leading the tours, I run a commercial photography business and spend a lot of time hiking and paddling kayaks, dragon boats and outrigger canoes.

Peter Schniederheinze- Tour Guide: About the same time Rich moved to Alaska, Peter was on vacation in Majorca with his bicycle team and met a young lady from Anchorage, Alaska. She followed him back to Berlin and 5 years later they moved to Alaska and out to McGrath. Another 30 year veteran of life in "Bush Alaska", Peter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about the Iditarod Race and life along the Iditarod trail. Peter also hosts the McGrath checkpoint for the "Alaska Ultrasport Race" from Willow to McGrath by foot, bicycle or skiis. The racers will be arriving in McGrath during our stay there and you will have the opportunity to meet with athletes and hear about their adventures along the trail.

Kris Capps - Tour Guide: Kris hails from Denali Park and helps run the tours to Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs. An experienced whitewater kayaker, river guide and all around wilderness junkie, she keeps our clients entertained with stories of her escapades and life in the frozen North over the last 30 years. Kris is an accomplished journalist and has had many articles published in magazines such as National Geographic, Outside Magazine , Alaska Magazine etc... A trip with Kris is always a memorable experience.