Cameron Martindell

Cameron Martindell is a freelance travel and expedition writer. In addition to writing his own blog, offyonder.com, he is the Managing Editor for Elevation Outdoors Magazine and he has contributed to GearJunkie, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Outside, Backpacker, Wired, and more.

He has been to all seven continents and lived on five of them. Cameron has more than 10 years of mountain search and rescue experience, and enjoys writing about camping, hiking, biking, skiing, vehicle/automotive, and travel gear, as well as outdoor gear as it pertains to family and kids. He currently lives in Boulder, Colo.

Title: Contributing Writer
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Social Media: @offyonder (IG, Threads, Twitter)
Personal Website: offyonder.com

Expertise

• Topics of Expertise: Family adventure, skiing, camping, hiking, cycling, outdoor gear, sailing, car camping, overlanding, vehicle reviews, mountain search & rescue
• Years in This Expertise: 20+
• Number of Products & Number of Hours Expert Has Tested: Thousands of products over tens of thousands of hours.

Education & Certifications

Education: Bachelor of Arts: Internet Entrepreneurship, Principia College, Elsah, Illinois
Years of Writing: 20+
Certifications: Current: WFA, CPR, Avalanche 1, Lifeguard, Maine Trip Leader; Expired: Wilderness First Responder, WSI, various Mountain Search and Rescue certs (advanced team leader, helicopter, crime scene, etc.)
Clubs or Associations: Adventure Travel Trade Association
Awards or Recognitions: Eagle Scout, Congressional Antarctica Service Medal

Experience

Cameron grew up in a military family, moving from the States to Germany and Italy.  He finally settled in Seattle, where he attended Issaquah High School, finished his Eagle Scout rank, and joined the King County Mountain Search and Rescue team. He was also in the first handful of employees for mountainzone.com — possibly the first online mountaineering magazine.

Cameron moved himself to St. Louis to attend Principia College, where he developed a custom degree called “Internet Entrepreneurship.” He also ended up with a Biology minor, quite by accident, simply by signing up for classes that promised field trips. While at Principia, Cameron was the captain of the fire brigade, the manager of the radio station, and was on the swimming and diving team, track team, and rugby club. He studied abroad in the Bahamas (marine biology) and Nepal (mountain ecology).

After college, Cameron threw himself at the world by leaping to Australia for a year doing web design and volunteering with the local bush firefighting unit, webslinging in New York City, teaching English in Japan, delivering sailboats across the oceans, and jumping on any adventure he could get his hands on. These years of world travel have helped Cameron speak fluent German and delve into Italian, French, Nepali, and Japanese.

He also wields a smattering of survival phrases in half a dozen other languages. Cameron occasionally guides visitors from overseas on adventure tours in various western U.S. National Parks entirely in German.

Cameron has settled with his wife, daughter, and son in Boulder, Colo., where he works and plays.

Career Highlights

• Sixteen-day packrafting trip on the Kongakut River to the Arctic Ocean
• Three-month stint working at the South Pole
• Guiding wilderness trips in Australia, the Pacific Northwest, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire
• Guiding river rafting trips on the Deschutes in Oregon
• Sixteen-day river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon
• Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards Judge
• Building content for the Adventure Travel Trade Association on the Storytelling team in Switzerland and Namibia
• Raising adventurous kiddos by taking them camping, on multiday river rafting trips, multiday ski hut trips, rock climbing, and other adventures

A Word From Cameron Martindell

I credit my introduction to adventure to my scouting experience. Growing up in Europe and being embedded in the local culture, and joining the Boy Scouts of America pack and troop on the military bases was my connection to my American heritage and a great venue for outdoor recreation. Once I figured out I could earn a living by doing the outdoor adventures I love to do, I was hooked. 

Having a family certainly forced me to level up from making ends meet as I hopped from one adventure to another as a single dirtbagger to being able to provide the lifestyle my wife and I want for our family. But the adventures continue, and I’m loving the opportunity to see my kids become little adventurers of their own.