In 2012, Michael and I met online while I was camping with Catherine Martini in Mono Hotsprings in the Sierras, and Michael was mountain biking in Mammoth Lakes. We weren't able to meet in person at that time, but luckily we were both living in San Diego. After some correspondence, we were finally able to meet in person. It was clear that we both enjoyed nature and spending time outdoors, and Michael clearly was smitten from that point forward.
On our second date, Michael took me hiking in Cowles Mountain. He decided that we were going to run the 907 ft of elevation gain, and I nearly hyperventilated to death. This was the start of our outdoor adventures which included trail running, climbing, hiking, two downhill mountain biking attempts (which left me cut, scraped, and bruised), and a lot of snowboarding. I thought I was a pretty good snowboarder, but our first snowboard trip together made me rethink how good I was. I have improved since, but Michael loved to leave me in the dust with near death experiences. I'm now realizing I must have a novel form of Stockholm syndrome.
CMH Heli interviews both Michael and I after his proposal, and wrote a story and published it on their website. You can read it here:
Read what CMH Heliskiing wrote about us