Our Guides

Highlights:

Seasoned ultra marathon runner

Mountain experience in US, Nepal, Mexico, Switzerland & Italy

CPR & First Aid certified

NOLS Wilderness First Responder

Bio:

Dave is the founder and owner of Top Out Adventures.   After a 20 year corporate career in operations, Dave got off the corporate treadmill to pursue his dream of introducing people to great outdoor adventure experiences.   He grew up exploring the parks and trails around his home in Nashville and the Smoky Mountains.  Life eventually took him to Monterrey, Mexico where he and his wife, Julie, had their two daughters, Zoe and Lucy. While in Mexico he was introduced to the Sierra Madre mountains that are just south of Monterrey.  

Dave and his family moved to Dallas, TX in 2008 where they still live.   With that move came the start of Dave’s running adventures.   It started with marathons, but those didn’t scratch the itch of getting out in nature and the mountains. He discovered the trails and long distance running. Dave has run numerous ultras up to 50 miles, the Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim and races in the Rockies, Mexico Copper Canyons, Himalayas and Alps. If you ask him, he will say he is just getting started.

It was the experience of the stage races that has most influenced the vision for Top Out Adventures.   The adventure and fun of meeting a small group of  people with the same passion in a wild location and pushing one’s limits day after day was life changing.   These trips allowed Dave to explore places he would never have otherwise and to test his limits with the confidence of a support structure.  The friendships that were formed on those trips continue to be a family around the world.

If you go on an adventure with Dave, you can expect careful planning, a safety first mindset and a “make it happen, capt'n” (his favorite phrase) drive.   His passion for client experiences is the compass for his decisions and the vision for Top Out Adventures.

Highlights:

Sea kayak guide in Alaska

North American cross country road trip guide

Bachelors Degree in Forestry from UC Berkeley

Certified yoga instructor

Wilderness First Responder, Avalanche 1, Advanced Open Water Dive

Bio:

Brit grew up in the small town of Rio Vista on the California Delta. College kept her in Northern California while she studied Forestry at UC Berkeley. Her love for ecology continues today, and she is a great teacher to anyone on the trail with her. Since graduating, she has fed her passion for adventure- kayaking to glaciers in Alaska, rock climbing in Yosemite, hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, and skiing all over the West.

She enjoys getting into the mountains with hiking experience in the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, Tetons, Sangre De Cristo, Canadian & Colorado Rockies, and Kenai Mountains.

When she isn’t out guiding, Brit works as a preschool teacher in Berkeley, CA. In her free time she enjoys cooking with her roommates, swimming in the bay, reading books for her feminist book club or learning to hang glide and salsa dance.

If you get to take a trip with Brit, be ready for tons of laughter and someone who truly wants you to have a good time.

Highlights:

Thirty-plus years in the outdoors

Over a decade of trail and ultramarathon racing experience

Mountain experience in the US, Austria, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Nicaragua, Peru, Scotland, Switzerland

NOLS certified Wilderness EMT, nationally registered NR-EMT-B

EMS skills instructor and American Heart Association CPR + first aid Instructor

Experienced cook and photographer

Bio:

Kristopher spent his childhood camping and fly fishing with his father. The passion for travel and outdoor adventure was quickly passed on, eventually growing into unbridled wanderlust. Over the years, Kris’ interests have expanded from hiking and camping to include extended stints as a climber and mountain biker. In 2009, he discovered trail running and has traveled extensively in the US, Western Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia in search of the perfect stretch of singletrack.

Kristopher spends his winters on the East coast where he works as an EMT and AHA CPR instructor. During the spring, summer, and fall he can be found running in the Rockies, racing in the Alps, and trying to stay upright on a surfboard in Central America.

Highlights:

Life flight and emergency room nurse.

Creative chef with a french toast recipe to die for.

Experienced trail runner and avid hiker.

Always smiling.

Bio:

Trisha is a true utility player and provides guiding, transportation, cooking, laughs and smiles. Trisha and her husband live outside of Austin. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. When she isn't on the trails or visiting grandchildren, she is a life flight nurse. While her trail racing days are behind her, she stays active by hiking, biking, kayaking and weight lifting.

Highlights:

Over 20 years of trail and ultra marathon experience

Mountain experience in the US, Canada, Scotland, Argentina, Machu Picchu, Kilimanjaro

Wilderness First Responder

Serves on Lake County Colorado Search and Rescue

Bio:

Paige has been hiking, exploring nature, and running ultra-marathons since she realized that those events occur in places where her favorite people (those with four legs and a permanent fur coat) live.

Currently splitting time between Houston, TX and Leadville, CO, her heart is in the mountains. One of her favorite things to do is find a new route in the mountains and explore it.

Her hobbies include chocolate, taking hilarious photos of her pets (currently 2 guinea pigs, 2 cats, and a foster cat), chocolate, hallucinating at mile 100, and chocolate.

Highlights:

Thirty-plus years in the outdoors

Over 15-years of trail and ultramarathon racing experience

Mountain experience in the US, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru, Tanzania

Certified Wilderness First Responder

Event organizer and race director for over a decade

Bio:

Steve is an avid rock climber, mountain biker, Nordic skier, and trail ultra-distance runner. Most days he can be found playing in the mountains and deserts of the western US. On days not spent playing outside, he plans, coordinates, and oversees events of all types; from large scale sporting events to small custom outdoor adventures.

He started his first career as an engineer, overseeing large scale construction projects but after a decade of grind, made the decision to change to a line of work more in tune with his passions. The running industry was a good fit, and Steve spent 10 years helping grow Ragnar, a company that produces running races. At Ragnar he built the Ragnar Trail Series and oversaw all operations for the company, a task that kept him very busy. Ragnar had an international footprint with races on five continents, shipping containers and 18-wheelers moving globally, and a staff of around 80 full time employees and 40 contract employees. Steve’s role at the company was coordinating the operations for all of these moving parts, keeping an eye on expenses and profitability, determining the direction for the company in years to come, and having lots of fun doing it. But after 10 years with Ragnar is was time for another change.

Steve stepped away from Ragnar and started One Step Events in 2019. One Step Events is an event planning company that takes on projects large and small, from planning and organizing large scale events to small custom outdoor adventures. His latest projects include building the Cocodona250, directing the Park City Point 2 Point, leading trips for Aspire Adventure Running, and guiding for Top Out Adventures.

Highlights:

More than 30 years of mountain experience

Skilled in both warm and cold weather climbing

CPR & First Aid certified

NOLS Wilderness First Responder

Bio:

Austin is the most true mountaineer of the group. He grew up spending summers in the Sawatch Mountains with his father. He knows the mountains intimately and is known for disappearing in the mountains to be alone in his happy place.

Austin is from Dallas and went to Texas A&M. When he isn’t guiding he is a landscape architect who will design your dream backyard. Austin and his wife Whitney have two girls, Audrey and Peyton. Austin is deeply involved with his church where he serves as a youth teacher and go-to guy for all of the staff.