Name/Nicknames: Evan Krogh, or “Krogh”
I stay busy with: Managing daily operations of the Wrightwood site, which can include anything from general course maintenance, to maintaining relationships within our tight-knit community, to training canopy guides on the course, to making sure our fleet of Mercedez-Benz Unimog’s are running strong, to insuring that our guests receive the premier canopy tour experience,….it’s all a day in the life!
I love my job because: I get the opportunity to work alongside some awesomely experienced outdoor professionals and be intimately involved with pushing the envelope of such an exciting industry. I thrive on the sporadic schedule that the responsibilities of my job may demand of me on any given day – I continue to choose this any day, over a job that might be the same routine every single day in a row. One minute I might be talking to guests in the welcome center about our interpretive program and the next I may be zipping through the course evaluating the guides and insuring the quality of our program is top notch. I find it much more satisfying and natural for me to be in a fast-paced environment where I’m often handed challenges that require creativity and being ‘quick on the toes’ to overcome.
I think that what makes Navitat different is: the level of thought and preparation that goes into just about everything we do! From the documentation and policies that directly affect our guest’s experience, to the level of detail in craftsmanship that our builder puts into constructing our courses, to the depth of knowledge that our guides facilitate the nature immersion experience from, to the type of equipment and emergency training we have, all the way to the simple fact that you will find our employees are a ‘team’ of people who are truly passionate about what we do! I think all of our guests can see that we are really excited to share our vision with them.
My favorite experience while working in this industry would have to be: the honor and responsibility of taking care of the public and insuring that best practice along with optimal safety measures are exercised. As an EMT, and the first responder for numerous life-threatening emergencies in the past, I’ve always acknowledged the extent of the potential risks involved with anything ‘outdoors’ and especially in the arena of our industry. It’s deeply fulfilling to be able to bring those skills and experiences to Navitat and share that level of commitment to customer service in the canopy tour environment. The type of training and learning opportunities I’m continually exposed to in this industry are both rewarding and humbling. The single most important risk management piece that I’ve learned along the way is to honestly assess your abilities and limitations so that you prevent an incident before you are forced to respond to an incident. “Know what you don’t know.”
My favorite element of the Navitat Wrightwood Course is: the level of sustained height through the course and the high exposure when traversing through Buford Canyon. The placement of the platforms being perched so high, offers our guests an elevated experience of flying like a hawk and perhaps a new “zoomed-out” perspective to better appreciate our immense 300 acre site! Growing up in southern California, I’ve always been a big fan of Red-tail Hawks. I was so excited when we learned that these impressive birds of prey live on our site and what an incredible educational opportunity that provided for wildlife viewing to our guests!
If you turned on my ipod right now, you would probably hear: Explosions in the Sky, Wilco, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, Blitzen Trapper, Radiohead, and Mason Jennings.
Something most people don’t know about me is: I spent a year away from the canopy tour industry working in the hospital world as a Hyperbaric Tech facilitating pressurized oxygen therapy and advanced wound care for patients who suffered from diabetic wounds, pressure ulcers, and amputations, at the Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, AZ.
{ 1 comment }
