Wes Smith
Field Guide
Joined Open Sky: May 2010
In Wilderness Therapy since: 2009
Interview with Wes Smith
June 2010
Q: If you were able to meet anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?
A: Dean Potter. He has a climbing style that is completely focused and dedicated to being absolutely in the moment. Climbing for Dean Potter seems to be a meditative state of all movement and no thought. Movement, in this state, becomes instinctual and there is no hesitation. I admire this type of focus and wish to discover ways to implement it into my own life.
Q: What are a few of the defining moments in your life and why?
A: When I was on a NOLS course and took the option of being evacuated after 55 days on course. I had hiked an injury to excruciating pain and was holding my group up. I had to admit to myself that I needed to leave and take care of myself. Truly humbling. Also, when I ate a mango for the first time. At that moment, I had discovered the most amazing tasting fruit in the world and wanted to only eat them for the rest of my life. The defining moment was realizing that I would have to eat other food as well in order to stay healthy.
Q: Who has been your greatest inspiration and why?
A: My brother, who still amazes me to this day. I never know what he will be able to accomplish next and the fact that he succeeded at a wilderness program really inspires me to share the success I have witnessed in his life with others. He truly does what allows him to be happy and does so around the boundaries and limits he has set for himself. My brother is my greatest inspiration.
Q: What are your unique gifts and/or experiences that help our students?
A: I have the ability to laugh at myself without self judgment. I have the ability to keep high energy and motivation in hard situations. I have experienced a physically different world that has forced me to adapt and overcome small every day challenges that seem like every day life now. These challenges may seem hard to others because they have not experienced having a prosthetic foot. This I like to translate to anyone's physical, mental or emotional differences and struggles because everyone has to adapt to a different experience one way or another and we can all learn from each other's experiences.
Q: Why do you work in wilderness therapy?
A: I enjoy getting people away from distractions of society where an individual is forced to focus on themselves. I enjoy seeing people become comfortable in an extremely natural, simple and unfamiliar setting.
Q: Why do you think wilderness therapy works?
A: It dissolves stressors that act as distractions and gets to the basics. Instead of worrying when my friend is going to call me on the cell phone and tell me some news I don't want to hear, I need to make a shelter before this bad weather hits and I get cold and wet. From this, we are able to better see our own reaction to situations which brings more self awareness and learning about ourselves, which is priceless.
Q: What do you think Open Sky students need?
A: To discover they have the ability to work through situations that seem impossible to them. They can figure out a solution without being told how to do it. They need to take the time to find out who they are and how they react to situations. They need to discover their own limits and boundaries around the choices they make.
Q: What do you like to do for fun when you aren’t working in the field?
A: Climbing, and when I'm not climbing, I like to think about where I want to go climbing when I get the chance. Rafting whenever my friends have a boat. Back country snowboarding is a new fun favorite of mine. I want to surf more so whenever I can get to the beach... I enjoy live music and playing outside with friends. I like to hike above tree line so I can see what is not close to me and feel the exposure on the side of a mountain. I enjoy traveling to new places with very little itinerary.
Q: Anything else you want to tell us about yourself?
A: I really really really like smiling and getting others to smile too.
Professional Experience
Educo, Fort Collins, Colorado
Field Staff/Logistics Staff
Turning Point, Fort Collins, Colorado
Counselor
Texas Rock Gym, Houston, Texas
Floor Staff/Wall Repair
Education
BS, Human Development and Family Studies
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
NOLS Australia Semester
Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
