Alex Mondau

 

Alex Mondau

Logistics Manager
Olympia, Washington, USA

 

BIOGRAPHY

Alex has always valued unstructured time to explore. Growing up in the beautiful scenery of Olympia, WA in the Pacific Northwest, he developed a healthy respect for the wilderness and a passion for experiencing all that it has to offer. Choosing to further his education at Pomona College in Los Angeles, Alex threw himself whole-heartedly into rugby. As a captain and president of the Claremont Colleges Rugby Football Club he lead the team to national championship competition each year and tours of New Zealand and France. Taking full advantage of the connections  in LA, Alex also spent a fall living in Prague, Czech Republic, formative in his passion for travel.

Since graduation Alex has worked labor construction, sold real estate and tended bar to fund his forays into the mountains. Small group summit climbs to the Washington peaks of Mt. Olympus, Adams and Rainier have wet his appetite for more long-term expeditions. In the fall of 2006 he sold gear for The North Face at their store in Seattle, WA. It was there that a chance meeting with Phill Michael led to plans for paths to cross in the Himalayas. Alex firmly believes you must experience something of the world firsthand, if you wish to truly participate and positively change it. Connecting with the Freestyle Expedition provides an outlet for his energies to seeing as much of the world as possible in hopes of gathering a better sense of direction and purpose. Most recently he spent the month of October 2006 in South America; trekking in Patagonia and tasting the wine of Argentina. With the spring of 2007 came the opportunity to embark on a five-month journey through South East Asia and Nepal. Alex trekked the Annapurna Circuit, helped run the Social Development Center of Nepal, a small orphanage in Kathmandu, and walked to Everest Base Camp with Phill and Chris during his time in Nepal.

The Freestyle Expedition is a natural progression of his pursuit of: responsible adventure travel; trekking and mountaineering with environmental clean-up; and fostering local cultural connections. When in Seattle Alex works as the Facilities Manager of Agua Verde Paddle Club & Café.