Essential Skills Outdoor School LLC Faculty
Bill Humphrey
Bill Humphrey is the owner/operator of Essential
Skills Outdoor School LLC. Bill began ESOS in response to a call from others to
provide safe and fun outdoor adventures for people of all ages. Having
grown up in northern Michigan, Bill possesses a vast array of wilderness
experience. He has led outdoor expeditions throughout the US and
Canada and enjoys canoeing, kayaking, winter camping and of course,
rock climbing.
His climbing experience is extensive, with over sixteen
years experience covering many areas in the West, Midwest and in
the Shir-Lin (Stone Forest) area of China. Bill’s favorite
climbing sites include the North Shore of Lake Superior; Devil’s
Lake and the sandstone areas of Southern Illinois and Kentucky.
Bill has a BA in English from Southern Illinois University and enjoys
writing short stories and poetry. He is a certified Wilderness
First Responder with ten years experience and he is also a certified High
Ropes Course Facilitator. Bill is trained and experienced in many
other aspects of adventure sports including wilderness trekking,
canoeing, kayaking and caving.
Bill has fun working with all types of groups and individuals, especially
mixed groups of kids and adults. He offers a variety of trip options,
and delights in seeing the complex interplay of physical strength,
emotion and self-discovery that is a part of the climbing adventure.
Bill lives with his wife and two sons in Viroqua, Wisconsin. His
other interests include Men’s Work, Shamanism, Breathwork and
Waldorf Education. Bill coordinates Rites of Passage activities
for the Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School,
which involves the fathers and sons of each years 6th grade class.
He also facilitates workshops
which combine wilderness adventures and personal growth.
Jessie Conaway
For twenty years, Jessie Conaway, MS, has educated adults and youth to safely and respectfully experience the natural places in which they live. She is a graduate of the Semester in the Rockies with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). She guided on the Arkansas River for the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center, and has educated people about safe canoeing, kayaking and rafting in waterways throughout the U.S., from the Mackenzie River in Oregon to the New River in West Virginia.
Jessie has a master's degree in experiential education, with a focus on environmental and outdoor education. She is currently certified in kayak instruction by the American Canoe Association, challenge course facilitation by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Wilderness First Aid by the Wilderness Medicine Institute.
An advocate of "everyday adventure," Conaway administers the Mississippi River Program, an interdisciplinary environmental education curriculum for secondary school students. She teaches outdoor pursuits for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and the Essential Skills Outdoor School.
Conaway enjoys the outdoors throughout the seasons with her husband and two daughters in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Erin Haasch
Erin Haasch comes from Madison, WI and has explored almost every state park in Wisconsin, canoeing many rivers, biking many roads and climbing many rocks. She has a great love of the outdoors, for teaching and for new experiences.
Erin is an artist, the mother of two sons and the manager of the Local General Store in Viroqua, WI. She likes hiking, bike activism, renewable energy, alternative construction, swimming, music, caving, and sustainable community development.
Erin is an outdoor guide because she enjoys the awesome personal power and freedom that she experiences during a day of climbing. She finds is only natural that to share these gifts with others. Erin acknowledges the honor and immense responsibility to offer a safe and inspiring day on the rock and she is grateful to offer you that opportunity. Erin believes that the natural world remains our greatest teacher.
