Keegan Rice
When you first look at Keegan’s photos you see his wild, untamed spirit, yet, he is one of the most humble souls you have ever met. Born and raised in Simsbury, CT., he has made a living through a rainbow of seasonal jobs, ranging from gondola operator, farm/ranch worker, to glacier guide. At age 16, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and has even appeared on a National Geographic TV show, ‘Are you Tougher then a Boy Scout’, where he was known as ‘The Yeti’.
Keegan Rice, self-proclaimed Dirt Bag, is exactly that, depending on how you approach the term. He has always spent the majority of his life outdoors, living alongside nature. He began his career as a Weekender playing soccer, hiking and camping, making music, and traveling with his family. The Rice family, rolling six deep, spent time moving across the country in their RV (where his parents currently reside), taking vacations that would include their two-month venture from Connecticut to Alaska.
After graduating from high school early, Keegan moved to Breckenridge, Colorado to pursue a life in the mountains. He felt privileged to move into his “beater” jeep to travel the West Coast solo. After 18-year old Keegan got tired of the ‘single’ life, he relocated back to Cape Cod, MA, to spend some quality time with the surf and save up enough money for his next adventures. Something about Colorado brought him back, but this time to Jackson Hole Wyoming; the mecca of mountaineering and back country skiing/snowboarding in the lover 48. Here he took a seasonal job as the gondola operator, which allowed him to shred 24/7.
Keegan didn’t want to spend too much time in one place, logical, since we only have on life to live. He and a climbing partner then purchased themselves a “rickety trailer”, which would inevitably be towed by his faithful beater, and took off for Alaska. This expedition lasted a few weeks, until they picked up their third travel companion and set off to climb Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. Nine days into weathering a storm at 14,000ft, they were forced to turn around and head for ‘home’. Reaching the summit isn’t always the definition of success, the team was happy with their accomplishment.
Two days later, Keegan took his next seasonal job as a glacier guide. He worked on the Matanuska Glacier, which he had thought would have at least lasted for a few months, but in turn lasted only a single month. What happened? Keegan fell in love. The two moved to Tahoe, California where they taught rock climbing, living in a tent on the side of the mountain.
Where is Keegan now? Living life as if it has no bounds. He continues to travel and now he is sharing those adventures with FEAT. He believes that FEAT, “gives someone who puts on a pair of socks in the morning confidence that they are unique and powerful, and they can make their dreams a reality”. Keegan will never stop searching for his next FEAT.
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