Watching Cusarare Falls near Creel, Mexico. Years later, Shaun returned and rappelled the center of the falls with Ben Wagenman and later with Chantal Methot. The water was much lower then, of course! Shaun and Ben also had some close calls rappelling the nearby 1,000' Basaseachic Falls.

Shaun handles a line on the 53' ketch Papa II as the water drains from a lock in the Panama Canal during a 5-week, 2,500 mile sailing adventure from Aruba to Acapulco, Mexico.

Wearing his favorite shirt in Disneyland.

Sitting on his roommate Von's Vespa at a small temple near their apartment in Chungli, Taiwan. Shaun and seven friends flew to Taiwan to teach English for six months. A 3-week vacation to Mainland China lasted four months and he wrote the book An American in China: starting over about the entire experience.$ Nine months after coming home, Shaun returned to Taiwan for another six months while waiting to begin graduate school.

Shaun climbs a couloir toward the Timpanogos North Summit (nearly 12,000'). On the way down, he and friends Chris and Chad Barksdale cracked the thin snow crust beneath them and gave them a moment to worry about avalanche.

Shaun's passport photo before moving from California to Brazil at age 7.

Shaun peers into a crevasse near Camp Muir (10,000') on Mount Rainier. Shaun decided to climb the mountain while working in Eugene, Oregon, but his climbing partner canceled so he was not able to go beyond Camp Muir where hidden snow bridges and deep crevasses make solo travel dangerous.

When Shaun, David and Captain Dan arrived at Gunboat Island in Panama's San Blas, these girls looked bored and lifeless. When we sailed away a day or two later after giving them notebooks and pens, carrying them on our shoulders, and teaching them to play hopscotch in the sand using pieces of coral, they could hardly stop smiling and their eyes were clear and bright. Here the girls end a speedy ride in the dingy (they may have never traveled faster than sail and paddle could propel their dugout canoes) to tour the Papa II.

Shaun rappels after climbing Lone Peak.

Shaun sitting atop Lone Peak after climbing the straight-up 700' face via 5.8 Open Book with Chris Barksdale. The first time he climbed this route with best friends Ben Wagenman and Shaleah McCourt, they summited at 2:30 a.m.