Susan Purvis saves lives and teaches others to do the same. As a wilderness first responder, she’s been to the hardest, coldest and highest places on the planet as an explorer, author, and educator. She didn’t know what she wanted to be when she was growing up but she knew she wanted to write a book and make a living outdoors. Back in the seventies and early eighties, there weren’t very many role models for women who wanted to work outdoors. While on ski patrol in Crested Butte, she joined the Search and Rescue Team. Determined to never leave anyone behind, she and her dog, Tasha, began a journey to find the lost and, ultimately, herself.

Susan raised Tasha as a free-spirited, independent canine with the freedom to make choices and not be restrained by a leash. Together, they rescued people buried in snow, lost in the woods, and nearly drowned in rivers.

As the founder of Crested Butte Outdoors, a wilderness medicine and avalanche education company, Susan specializes in winter mobility warfare training. She works with elite teams like Navy SEALs, FBI agents, and combat medics on how to move through the winter wilderness, build snow caves, and survive avalanches.

In her book, Go Find: My Journey To Find The Lost – And Myself, Susan explores the idea that not only can people get lost in the mountains, they can also get lost in a relationship or a career. As one of only about 800 women in the Explorers Club, her latest adventure will be retracing Darwin’s expedition.