Apogee Peak News: The “Looking Forward to Spring” Edition!

It’s March, Apogee family, and that means it’s almost spring! While we just got a whole bunch of fresh snow, we’re already daydreaming of a bright, sunshine-y spring and a full, fun Apogee summer! Read on to see what’s new in the Apo universe!

Also – if your Apogee Alum has done something cool or exciting recently (and we know you have!), please send a blurb and photo to andi@apogeeadventures.com.   

We love hearing from you!


A Sparkling Apogee Alum Feature

Today, we are thrilled to be featuring four-time Apogee alum Alex Miller! Alex began his Apogee days with our New England Mountains & Coast trip, then in the following years went on to conquer our Maine’s Downeast Explorer, Costa Rica Mountains & Coast, and finally the one, the only, virtual Maine Coast College Essay (during summer 2020, of course).

Although Alex is past his days as an Apogee student, he is ecstatic to take on a new role at Apogee as a leader for our Vermont to Montréal bike trip this summer!

Alex kayaking on the shores of Boston and soaking in the sunshine.

Currently, Alex is a sophomore at Boston University studying Computer Science with a minor in Spanish. He spends his free time at school working as a course assistant for Introduction to Computer Science II, developing personal computer science projects, and exploring the city of Boston! Alex also plans to complete his Spanish minor by studying abroad in Madrid during the spring of 2024, and he credits his Apogee trip to Costa Rica with sparking his desire to become fluent in Spanish by immersing himself in a Spanish-speaking country and giving him the confidence to do so.

We love seeing the amazing things our Apogee alumni get up to and we love when they come back and lead trips, too! We can’t wait to have Alex on board this summer!

Alex (middle) with two friends from BU soaking up the sun in South Boston

New Outfitter Feature
We are so excited to be working with a new outfitter this summer to bring rock climbing to a second trip in the Apogee line up. Up to now, our Colorado’s Rocky Mountains has been the only trip that involves rock climbing. But that all changes with Cathedral Mountain Guides joining our New England Mountains and Coast trips to get our NEMC students out in New Hampshire’s resplendent White Mountains!
Assistant Director Andi Schweers taking advantage of beautiful fall conditions to get out with Cathedral Mountain Guides as part of our scouting process.

Cathedral Mountain Guides (or CMG) has been operating out of North Conway, New Hampshire for 15 years and brings 53 collective years of professional guiding experience to the table, just amongst their operating partners.

We’re excited to be partnering with CMG and know that our students are going to have a terrific time getting out on the rocks!


A Delicious Apogee Staff Feature

While she has been out of the Apogee ecosystem for some years, you’ll frequently hear the name “CC” tossed around in Apogee circles – she is indisputably one of Apogee’s All-Time Rock Stars. CC (Gensheimer) DesRosiers led three summers for us and four different trips – Maine’s Downeast Explorer, New England Mountains and Coast, California Mountains and Coast (now California’s Coastal Mountains!), and, most excitingly, our inaugural year of our ever-popular Alps Explorer trip.

CC will always say she had the best co-leader and you may know him now as “Tucker’s Dad” – our own Associate Director Jack Messerly. (Jack would disagree with CC and say that, in fact, she is the best co-leader of all time.)

CC loved the Alps so much that she took her family on a trip a few leaders leading, including her sister, Hannah (another former Apogee Leader and Assistant Director)!

CC and her sister, Hannah, soaking in the sunshine in the Alps

CC graduated from William & Mary and started a career in corporate consulting but she quickly realized that wasn’t the path for her. CC then took the plunge and moved out to San Francisco to be closer to the mountains and water. She’s been in San Francisco now for a little over five years and absolutely loving it.

CC and her husband, Reed, started their own company Troop. They are on a mission to create a better way to socialize with a better drink. They make a lineup of full flavor, full strength cocktails made with real spirits, fresh-squeezed citrus juices, herbs, and botanicals. (Our mouths are watering just thinking about it) CC would also like to mention that Troop is currently sold across 6 states and available online nationwide!

CC and Reed perfecting the next batch of Troop cocktails

On the weekends, when CC isn’t entrepeneur-ing, you’ll find her hiking up in Marin or skiing / cross-country skiing in Tahoe throughout the winter months.

We’re so grateful that CC is part of our Apogee community and we love seeing all she has accomplished!


Recruiting Leaders: Behind the Scenes
If you’ve ever wondered how we get such terrific quality leaders every year, a big part of it is the time and effort we put into recruiting those folks. January and February are big months for our leader recruiting team and five members of our office hit the road in the last month to talk about Apogee and meet folks in person.One of the ways Apogee stands out from other companies is that our Directors are heavily involved in all aspects of the business. In fact, both of our Directors hit the road to meet with potential staff. Director Kevin Cashman spent a week in New York state visiting Hamilton College and St. Lawrence University, and Director Chad Olcott headed across the country to Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

We met some terrific folks and we can’t wait for our students to meet the team that we have coming together for this summer!

Alum leader and three-time student, Lindsey Royce, hanging out with Chad at Leader Training 2021