Paul Claus
"Paul combines the terrain-knowledge of the mountaineer with skills acquired growing up in the cockpit, and he is a genius now at glacier landings."
– National Geographic Traveler
"King of the bush pilots."
– Outside Magazine
Paul Claus has been leading adventurers in these mountains all his life. Harpers & Queen named him the Best Adventure Guide in their 150 Best Places on Earth review. He served as the wilderness survival expert on the Discovery Channel’s “Alaska Experiment.”
“Wilderness is the unexpected...
We follow nature, not the other way around, and every day here is different.”
He should know – he grew up here in the Alaskan wilderness and lives each day in awe of its grace and power.
From Everest to the Wrangells
Though he’s a seasoned world traveler and outdoorsman who has climbed Everest, the Wrangell-St. Elias mountain range is Paul's favorite place on earth.
“The Himalayas are beautiful,” says Paul. “But not more so than here. And the Himalayas are not an unpeopled wilderness. You come to the top of the pass, look down into the next valley, and there is a town. But here, we are the only people who live on the banks of this 150-mile river. This is some of the last true wilderness on earth.”
Life-Long Pilot
Naturally, in a country without roads, Paul grew up in the cockpit. As a pilot, he’s become a legend, and there are plenty of pilots in Alaska who can tell you a Paul Claus story.
Paul stares thoughtfully out the window. The sky turns silver as a mass of clouds churns down the valley. “Every day,” he says, “We deal with the Alaskan factor. Everything here is bigger, larger, harder and tougher than it looks. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done, or how good shape you’re in, if you come here, you’ll contend with the Alaskan factor. That’s the reality of Alaska.”
He watches as the storm clouds dissolve on a warm updraft over the Chitina River. A ray of sunlight shines through, glittering on the mountainside. “That’s what makes it fun!”
