Natalie is an experienced mountain guide and outdoor educator. She has been an outdoor professional since 2002 and has climbed and explored on all seven continents. Originally a San Diego native, she spent her youth camping and backpacking in the southwest. She currently travels worldwide guiding mountaineering trips and teaching wilderness medical courses, but considers Bishop, California home. She holds her BA from U.C. Santa Barbara, where she did research and education on health, nutrition and movement. She is certified as an EMT-B and Wilderness First Responder, and holds certifications from the AMGA, AIARE and is a Leave No Trace Trainer.
Natalie Brechtel Experience
Natalie spent five years managing UC Santa Barbara’s Outdoor Program and Ropes Courses, feeding her passion for outdoor education. She has worked for that National Park Service as a Park Ranger, and as part of Yosemite Search and Rescue. Her guiding experience focuses on the deserts and mountains from CA to the Cascades in the Pacific North West. Abroad Natalie has guided mountains in central and South America as well as in New Zealand.
Chasing adventure, Natalie began an obsession with working and exploring in Antarctica. Since 2011 she has contributed to the medical auxiliary and SAR team for US Antarctic Field Stations. She continues to return to Antarctica as a Field Safety Coordinator, specializing in supporting scientist on the sea ice.
Natalie Brechtel Education and Certifications
Guiding Certifications
Natalie has taken the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) Rock Guide program and holds her Single Pitch Instructor Certification. She holds a certification from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) and is a Leave No Trace Trainer.
Medical Certifications
Medically she is currently certified as an EMT-B and Wilderness First Responder. In 2016 Natalie began teaching wilderness medicine all over the US. She is a Licensed Instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates and the American Heart Association.
Education
Natalie holds her B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara, where she did research and education on health, nutrition and movement. In 2017 Natalie went back to school to study Nutritional Therapy with an emphasis on gut health for athletes.
Additional Skillset
Natalie has served as a hypothermia expert for a program featured on YouTube and provided safety and logistics for other film industry field work.
Natalie owns her own company, Gut-Z Journey Inc., where she helps people prepare for outdoor adventures through wilderness medical courses, fitness, and nutrition clinics. She is passionate about outdoor mentorship and continued learning. You can explore her clinics and wilderness medicine programs HERE.
In her leisure time Natalie enjoys cooking, dancing and doing artwork.
To arrange a trip with Natalie contact our office
“It was crazy good because of your guide Natalie. She pushed us a little beyond our confidence and we credit her with our summit. She is simply a phenomenal young person and guide” – Client – Dennis Valley