Guides

Shannan Balzer

Senior Adventure Guide
EMT, Wilderness First Responder, AIARE 1, & PSIA Certified Cross Country Instructor
Hometown: Placerville, CA

Shannan is constantly planning her next new adventure, whether it’s running, skiing, rock climbing, or biking. A California native with an engineering degree from California Polytechnic State University, she’s lived in Colorado for the past 12 years. Shanny loves to travel and even took a self-supported bike tour in Guatemala while in college. She’s been to over a dozen countries and visited every continent except Antarctica (so far, at least). For her recent adventures this spring, she trekked across New Zealand with a couple other staffers and her mom. After many moons as a guide here, we’re excited to see her step up into a leadership role to take the Adventure Center to the next level!

Adam Schmidt

Adventure Center Manager
Wilderness First Responder & PSIA Certified Cross Country Instructor
Hometown: Madison, WI

Adam joins us for his fourth season at the ranch, after really stepping up and growing in the department over the last year he’s excited to be taking on some more responsibilities as co-manager of the Adventure Center. And we’re super excited for him, as we think he’s going to crush it! He recently graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in Molecular Biology. He played soccer through his college years, and loves to water ski, read, and find the perfect spots to hammock!

Parker Loew

Guide
CPR, AED, and First Aid Certified
Hometown: Ely, MN

Parker joins us for his second season at Vista Verde, and we’re excited to have his fly fishing expertise on the team! He studied fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology at the University of Minnesota and worked as a fly fishing guide for Rawah Guest Ranch in 2022. He is also a writer and photographer. He has some clips in a small Northern Minnesota newspaper called the Ely Echo and his Instagram page is full of stunning shots.

Brendan Mchugh

Guide
First Aid & CPR certified
Hometown: Madison, CT

Brendan has been apart of our Guide team for the two seasons now and is excited to jump into all things winter! His favorite things include fishing, skiing, hiking, drumming, and taking our pontoon to the beautiful Steamboat Lake. When he isn’t guiding trips, you can find him fishing… still… and cracking jokes. Fun Fact: His dad is a standup comedian. No one can make us laugh like Brendan, how lucky are we (and you!)

Parker Hamlin

Guide
Hometown: Austin, TX

This is Parker’s second season at the ranch, but he is a Texas native who has been coming to Steamboat since he was 2 years old! He has a deep love for the Yampa valley and the creatures that call it home. He also funs is own small business, CHIEF Provisions, designing men’s outdoor gear and apparel.

Brenah Delacour

Guide
Wilderness First Responder
Hometown: Chester, CA

Brenah is no stranger to the Guide life. Before VVR, she worked as a fishing/hiking guide in Alaska, Arizona, and Oregon. Now, she gets to add Colorado to her list! She is ready to experience all that comes with working on our lovely ranch, from horseback riding to tubing! She is your girl for adventure, on top of working in surrounding states, she moved to Australia for 6 months when she turned 18. Yes, she did see really large spiders. In the future, she hopes to visit her brother in Germany but for now she is ready to meet all of you!

Freddy Albert

Guide
Wilderness First Responder, CPR, First Aid, & Infant CPR
Hometown: Pacific Grove, CA

Freddy grew up on the Central California Coast exploring tidepools and jumping into waves. After high school Freddy decided to head North where he studied Geology and Outdoor Education at the University of Oregon. While in Oregon he fell in love with the outdoors and spent as much time as possible exploring the hiking trails, mountains and rivers all around the state. He soon became a leader for the UO Outdoor Pursuits Program where he took fellow students on multi-day backcountry trips and learned outdoor education and technical rescue skills. Since then has operated tour boats in Montana and kayak guided in Alaska. With his background and love for the outdoors, we could not be more excited to welcome him to our team!

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