About

Alex Rienzie

During the 2020 lockdowns, I traded Long Island, NY, for Jackson, WY. Up to March 2020, I lived in Greenpoint, commuting to an office in Manhattan. As the city shuttered, I migrated to my childhood home in Suffolk County, then Jackson Hole.

Jackson adventures started with hikes and resort skiing. Things got out of hand, and now I've ski mountaineered, trad climbed, tanned an elk hide, ran a trail ultra and taught adaptive ski school. Each suffer-fest inspired a greater appreciation for chairlifts, sport climbs and 5Ks.

I figured I'd write some trip reports and primers to 1) re-live adventures and 2) help future groups research and plan objectives. A few of those "absurdly detailed," as friends call them, reports by activity:

• Ski touring basics: Mt. Moran's Skillet Part I (training) and Part II (trip report), plus Backcountry Skiing 101 <- winter 2022
• Summit bagging: Grand Teton's Owen Spalding (5.4) / Upper Exum (5.5) and Mt. Moran's CMC Face (5.5) <- summer 2022
• Endurance: Picnic triathlon (bike, swim and hike to the Grand Teton summit) <- summer 2022 and Teton Crest Trail (39 miles) <- fall 2023
• Hunting: Jackson Hole Elk Hunt and Hide Tanning Primer <- fall 2022
• Ice climbing: Hyalite Canyon (WI2-4, plus a ski link-up) <- winter 2023
• Ski mountaineering: Grand Teton's Ford Stettner <- winter 2023 and Teton Trifecta <- winter 2024
• Multi-pitch climbing: Pingora East Face (5.7) <- summer 2023

One of those adventures turned into a longer project... Connor and I filmed our friend Michelino’s Grand Teton speed-record attempt and ended up documenting a criminal trial, our own filming-permit lawsuit, congressional involvement and a presidential pardon. I also represented Michelino pro bono in his case.

We’re now working on Racing Grand Teton. To help organize and search the footage, we built some tools using open-source software and AI coding agents, released as open-post-production.

Outside these projects, I work in investing and finance and teach corporate finance. More on that over on LinkedIn.

Why Grizzlies & Avalanches?

In northwest Wyoming, avalanches and grizzly encounters are at the top of my "yikes" list, followed by lightning and icy rocks. Plus, a grizzly riding an avalanche made for a fun site background.

The Photos

You've probably noticed some insane photos across the blog. Most were taken by my go-to adventure partner, Connor Burkesmith.

Disclaimers

I may earn referral fees on qualifying purchases from some links in my posts, via Amazon and other platforms.

All of these activities are inherently dangerous, so take it easy and do your own research before jumping into the deep end.