MIKE WELCH has been enjoying the mountains of Alaska from high school through college and beyond.  Mike began his professional career ski patrolling the night shift at Hilltop Ski Area on the Anchorage hillside for a college job.  When work became his passion he knew he found a career.  Working as a professional patroller at Alyeska Resort and Alta Ski Area, has enriched his life with the fringe benefits of a career that he started in 1993.  Days not skiing for work will usually find him skiing “just one more run” in the mountains that he happens to be near at the moment. 

Summertime finds Mike doing a variety of guiding work on rivers.  From teaching a flycaster the right drift to catch that huge trout and keeping camp safe in bear country,  to rafting whitewater and aiding rafters from his safety kayak he keeps busy on the rivers of Alaska and beyond.  When not guiding in one form or another you might find mike sailing, or surfing or who knows what other outdoor pursuit…