Born and raised in Detroit, alpinist Sam Elias has summited Everest and podiumed in ice-climbing events, and he climbs everything from big walls to super-punchy sport climbs. Translation: the 36-year-old knows his way around rock and ice. (He鈥檚 also pretty good on snow, too, having gone to college on a ski racing scholarship.) But Elias鈥 creative passions are just as varied as his climbing ones: he鈥檚 designed everything from his own tattoos to the line of clothing for The North Face. Always looking for new ways to connect with people, Elias draws as much inspiration from the urban spaces of his adopted hometown of Salt Lake City as he does from the mountains. 鈥淚 love those extreme contrasts,鈥 says Elias. 鈥淚 just get so alive.鈥
Elias is especially proud of his Detroit roots, returning frequently to visit his parents and reconnect with the working class city. 鈥淚鈥檝e always called myself a blue-collar climber,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 like to work. I can get lost for hours in hard, physical labor. I get that from my father, who emigrated from Syria, but also from the culture of Detroit.鈥 Elias has other urban sensibilities, too, like his love of the electronica DJ shows he attends in Salt Lake City, and his growing array of tattoos, which he collaborates in designing. 鈥淭attoos feel like a new interface for me with the urban environment,鈥 he says.
When he travels, Elias revels in exploring new cities even though he never much liked walking around in them until recently. But his thirst to get a feel for the authentic culture of a place trumps that dislike. Today, he plots walking tours on his phone to visit museums, parks, or the city鈥檚 high point, as he did this fall in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 鈥淚 fell in love with climbing because of the lifestyle and the culture,鈥 says Elias. 鈥淚 want to connect to that wherever I go now. The cuisine, the clothing of a place鈥擨鈥檓 fascinated by the minutiae. It gives texture to life.鈥
If you carry the attitude of exploration and curiosity, urban experiences can be just as much a mirror to the self
The biggest cities, like New York, offer a particular pleasure for Elias, who loves to be immersed in a crowd of people going about their business. 鈥淚t鈥檚 comforting because nobody cares what you鈥檙e wearing, or what you do for work, or about your sexuality. There鈥檚 just too many people for them to get hung up about things, and that allows me to be more comfortable in my own skin.鈥
Exploration, says Elias, is more than just physical journey. 鈥淐limbing for me has always been a way to turn exploration inward鈥攖he exploration of self. If you carry the attitude of exploration and curiosity, urban experiences can be just as much a mirror to the self.鈥
聽believes in celebrating the spirit of exploration that lives within us all. From the mountain to the city, they believe that all explorers share a mindset of curiosity paired with the courage to try something new.聽This 4-part series also includes聽a聽climbing prodigy聽from New York City聽and聽a snowboarder聽mentoring the next generation of female street riders. | Hero photo credit: .