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GORP Tested: Bivouac Sacks
Meet the Bivy Test Team

Who in their right mind would willingly endure six months of raging tempests and sleepless nights encased in a thin nylon cocoon? Meet the slightly demented test crew; they suffered so that others might not.

Nick Beer; Photo by Brandon WeathermonNick Beer is the quintessential outdoor adventurer. His twenty-two years of climbing have taken him to the top of South America's Anconcagua and Mount Rainier, among others on a lengthy tick list. Nick has hiked, skied, and paddled up and down the West Coast, from British Columbia to Baja, Mexico.
Steph Barss and Ron George; Photo by Brandon WeathermonBackcountry Tours guide Steph Barss is another go-for-it kind of person. Steph has sea kayaked, cycled, and climbed all over the Northwest. She and Ron George currently live in Redmond, Oregon.

Ron George has been climbing around Oregon and Washington for the past seventeen years. He also puts out forest fires for the Bureau of Land Management.
Brandon Weathermon; Photo by Paul ClevelandBrandon Weathermon splits his year by hiking the beautiful Olympic National Park coast as a backcountry ranger from spring through summer, then skiing the world-record snows of Mount Baker Ski Area as the head of ski patrol in the winter. As Brandon likes to say,"It's all good."
Paul Cleveland; Photo by Paul ClevelandYours truly, Paul Cleveland, is another outdoor jack-of-all-trades. I guide whitewater raft trips down the Methow and other Northwest rivers during summers, and write and test gear for major outdoor publications and Web sites during winters.

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Article © Paul Cleveland, 2000. Photos © Brandon Weathermon and Paul Cleveland, 2000.



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