Michael Lanza is a freelance writer and photographer, creator of TheBigOutside.com, and Northwest Editor of Backpacker Magazine. He is currently working on a book, titled Before They're Gone, about taking his young son and daughter on wilderness adventures in national parks threatened by climate change; read more about that here. He has covered topics as diverse as record floods at Mt. Rainier, the controversy over snowmobiles in Yellowstone, and the impacts of climate change on Glacier National Park and other wild lands; his articles about global warming helped Backpacker earn a National Magazine Award for general excellence in 2008. He has published stories in several magazines about adventure travels on four continents.

He's also the author of Seven Summits—The High Peaks of the Pacific Northwest; Winter Hiking and Camping; and Day Hiker’s Handbook. His experience includes syndicating a weekly outdoor column in 20 daily newspapers across New England, editing an outdoor magazine, co-hosting a call-in show about the outdoors on New Hampshire Public Radio, and working as a reporter and editor at Massachusetts and New Hampshire newspapers. Michael has a B.S. in photojournalism from Syracuse University.

An avid backpacker, climber, backcountry skier, and cyclist, he has hiked and climbed extensively in the U.S. West and Northeast, and in the Alps, Canadian Rockies, Himalaya, Iceland, Patagonia, New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Spain, and the Scottish Highlands.

Michael lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Penny Beach, and their son, Nate, and daughter, Alex.

“Mike is a walking encyclopedia of outdoor expertise. If you can imagine it, he’s probably been there, done that, and brought home an engaging story. From profiles to travel narratives to gear reviews and technical advice, Mike delivers clean, on-time copy that demonstrates a great understanding and fondness for our readership. He’s one of our most versatile and skillful authors, which is why we call on him to cover issues and personalities beyond the scope of his duties as our Northwest editor.”

--Jonathan Dorn, Editor-in-Chief, Backpacker