15 Years of Elevation Outdoors Magazine—Thanks to Doug.
Doug, Douglas, Duggie, Schnitz, The Schniz, DS, Dad, Hubby—no matter what name you know him by, hearing that name always brings out a smile. Doug Schnitzsphan has been the Editor-in-Chief of Elevation Outdoors Magazine from the start, 15 years ago, and you’ll hear about how it all kicked off in some of the notes below.
I first met Doug at an EO edit meeting. I was invited by then Managing Editor, Jayme Moye (see below), to EO’s HQ—the kitchen of our founding publisher’s home in Boulder for the first many years—to learn more about the magazine that had just launched a few months prior. It was fun to be part of the meeting, listen in on the ideas, and share some ideas myself. As someone who was new to the outdoor writing industry, I was stoked when Doug offered me an assignment. But what really blew my socks off was at the end of the meeting he turned to me and said “so, do you want to be an editor?” I didn’t really know what that meant, but I knew his kind, warm, and genuine demeanor was something I wanted to be around more often. So, I said yes.
Fast forward to the floor of the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City in 2011 and whenever someone saw “Elevation Outdoors” on my badge, or I introduced myself as with the magazine, that smile I mentioned above lit up every face. “Oh, you’re working with Doug. That’s so great! How is he? Where is he?” —the latter, always the unknown. He was everywhere and nowhere at once. Walking the aisles of OR with Doug meant you couldn’t get anywhere because everyone wanted to stop and have a chat.
But many others have known and been working with Doug for much longer than I have. Some of those stories are below and I’m sure you will have a similar reaction as I did while reading them: a smile, a nod, and a swelling sense of gratitude to have the privilege of knowing Doug. Enjoy. And if you have a story, please send them in!
—Cameron Martindell, Managing Editor, Elevation Outdoors Magazine
Meredith Harmon (DeMaso), Founding Publisher of Elevation Outdoors Magazine
oooo Doug, where to start?
I think I’d start with the interview process! What I remember is everyone we met with basically just told us to hire Doug. I’m not sure how he stacked the bench like that, maybe because he’s so good to all his many writers that work with him. It was kind of hilarious though – we’d take editors/writers to lunch or coffee or drinks and they’d basically talk about Doug the entire time. So… we hired him.
I remember a very specific smile, a sweet smile that silently said, “Meredith, you have no idea what you’re talking about, or what you’re doing, but I believe in you nonetheless, ….because I have a family to support… and I have to.” Then he’d help me make a work connection.
I remember our first office – aka, my apartment in Boulder and Doug coming and going in a half daze having small children that weren’t sleeping much. I had empathy, but no experience at the time to understand just how little sleep he was operating on, how much he was juggling or how much pressure it must have been to be the editor of yet another new outdoor magazine in Boulder… (oh by the way RIP competition!!)
I remember the typing – You have Never heard someone type as fast or as loud as Doug Schnitzpahn. He becomes so completely absorbed in his computer to the point that I’m unsure a fire alarm would phase him. His body may be in the room, but no one is home. He’s in another world, while the rest of the room is totally impressed at how typing can fill a room.
I remember gear, so much gear, anytime I needed gear to try some new outdoor adventure in Boulder. I miss the gear Doug.
And finally I remember singing… to Vampire Weekend, loudly!
Blake DeMaso, Owner, Summit Publishing (EO’s parent company)
I remember meeting Doug for the first time at Outdoor Retailer. He was his regular energetic self, but OR Doug is at an entirely different level, fueled by not enough sleep and too much caffeine. Everybody in the halls knew him, and he was introducing me to people left and right. I couldn’t keep up, but I was sure we had the right person for the job. He told me about all of his adventures and exciting press trips, and there wasn’t an outdoor activity or person in the industry that he didn’t know about. What I didn’t realize at first is Doug’s compassion and care for other people. Over the years I realized that there is nothing that Doug wouldn’t do to help a friend, co-worker or complete stranger. Doug has been wonderful to work with over these past 15 years and so glad that our paths have crossed.
Peter Kray, Editor-At-Large, Elevation Outdoors Magazine
Stoke for the Schnitz
For 15 years at the helm of Elevation Outdoors, Doug Schnitzspahn has been the glue, the go, and the get behind it of an uncountable number of outdoor adventures both lived and written. Forever riding the edge of every literary deadline ever set, he can turn mountain bike-churned prairie dust into timeless poetry, book readings into paeans, and gear reviews into epic songs. In Doug’s hands, no mile on the trail is uncherished, no dog unwelcome—often leading the pack with personality and purpose right from the trailhead—and no opportunity to walk out the front door goes wanting, because each Rocky Mountain adventure you don’t embrace will never return again.
As a friend, we’ve shared chairlifts from Santa Fe to Sweden, each ride ringing with laughter at a new observation or timeless ski joke we’ll share again and again, then cherishing each spoken word memory at the base lodge with a beer in hand among a steady built crew of well-loved outdoor industry friends.
As writers, we’ve shared dreams and ambitions. Storylines, first drafts, final copies, new ideas and really bad ideas that thankfully were never written. When we talk, I quote A Moveable Feast, Sam Peckinpah, Joe Strummer, and Gram Parsons. “Schnitz” quotes a mind-reeling catalog of centuries of poems, each one immediately changing the way you see the world, and even if just for a moment, completely rewiring your mind. I want to read whatever book he writes. He’s certainly helped me finish mine.
In the way he has directed this magazine with so much joy, creativity, and purpose, Doug reminds me of my father, another young East Coast dreamer who headed West with visions of a life as much Jack London as it was Rolling Stone. The constant celebration on each page of the wildlife, the sports, the topography, and especially each and every one of the individuals—athletes, entrepreneurs, and artists—who make this culture and community so invigorating, is because Doug is so curious, so knee-deep in the moment, and always working to deliver the best copy he can.
Thanks for bringing us all on the ride, amigo! Elwayville and Colorado and every ski bum, CO craft beer concocter, start-up apparel company, fly guide, dispensary, and local-bred jam band offer a toast in thanks for ever story you’ve shared with us and our friends!
Jayme Moye, Former EO Assistant & Managing Editor
An Ode to D.S.
In the fall of 2008, Doug gave me my first regular writing gig. I’d read an announcement in the Boulder Daily Camera that a new magazine called Elevation Outdoors was coming to town and that Doug would be the editor. I sent him an email stating that I didn’t have any experience, but was willing to work as an unpaid intern. His response: “I think I can afford that.”
I’d met Doug earlier that year at a magazine-writing conference put on by Michelle Theall, who was the editor-in-chief of Women’s Adventure magazine at the time. Doug had been one of the speakers. I had been a starstruck newbie who’d recently started freelance-writing on the side of her tech job, and hoped to someday make the leap into writing as a career. I remember asking Doug at the conference for tips on how to interview a story subject. “Just get them talking,” he’d told me. “Then listen.”
Months later, after I read Doug’s email agreeing to take me on as an unpaid intern, I felt like the safety net that I needed to jump had suddenly appeared. I remember my first day at the Elevation Outdoors office, which, at the time, was the spare bedroom in publisher Meredith DeMaso’s house. Doug was on his laptop, seated at one side of a long, collapsible table. I took out my laptop and set up across from him. He was deeply engrossed in something, and I didn’t want to interrupt him. After a few minutes, he looked up over his laptop at me. “Can you check how to spell Jägerbomb?” he asked. “Just type it into the search on the New York Times website and see what comes back.”
It was my first lesson in fact-checking. Soon after, Doug taught me how to write a news short for EO’s front of the book. It was about a group of activists who’d flashed their bare bottoms on the Poudre River as part of a demonstration. His straightforward way of breaking down a news story into four basic sections has stayed with me my entire career.
Doug started paying me after the very first issue we worked on together. “You’re doing way more than intern work,” he said, and made me Assistant Editor. Not long after, he promoted me to Managing Editor. We worked together on Elevation Outdoors for seven years. I would not be where I am today as a writer if it weren’t for Doug. I am so grateful that he could afford an unpaid intern.
Chris Kassar, Senior Editor, Elevation Outdoors Magazine
Doug – Since 2011 when I first pitched you my first story ever, you have been a steady presence in my life – both as a friend and as an editor. Shortly after that, I moved to Boulder and you gave me – an unknown, newbie in the writing world – a shot on the EO staff. You taught me the ropes and definitely had way more confidence in me than I had in me (and you probably still do – that’s part of your magic!) Your confidence was enough for the both of us though – because here I am – still doing what I love. I definitely wouldn’t be who I am without your loyalty, dedication, mentorship and friendship. Thank you for your continued support throughout the ups and downs of it all. But really – thanks for just being the amazing, steady light that continually guides the way – and makes everything more fun. So much gratitude for you, DS!
Mike Rogge, Editor, Mountain Gazette
Doug, the readers of Colorado are better because you’ve been the editor of EO. Your veganism and hot yoga love is outside the norm of traditionally conservative Boulder, but it’s good to challenge people’s viewpoints more now than ever. Speaking of your love of fruit, remember that time on a press trip in Italy when we smoked hash out of cored-out apple? Me too. Or the time we slammed wine and grappa then skied under the moonlight back to the base area? Me too. Or all of the times we made fun of Peter Kray, because he’s probably a better writer than us? Me too! And that’s just it, buddy. You’re the kind of guy who creates memories for his friends, family, and community. EO and Colorado are lucky to have had you at the helm for these last fifteen years. I guess I’ve been fortunate, too, to call you a friend, too. You New Jersey *sshole. Let’s Go Mets.
Aaron Bible, Contributing Editor, Elevation Outdoors Magazine
There is no one in the world that I’ve worked with more over the years than Doug. From being the first copy editor at Elevation Outdoors nearly 14 years ago, to countless Outdoor Retailer shows, dozens of press trips international and domestic, collaborating on numerous other publications, articles, platforms, and stories, Doug has been my constant ally, cheerleader, supporter, and editor for much of my adult career. We also worked very closely together when I was the Digital Editor at Blue Ridge Outdoors and Elevation Outdoors, and we even tried to revive Mountain Gazette there for a minute. On a human scale, Doug is an 11 out of 10. He is an incredibly admirable father, an athlete, skier, nature lover, a poet, a critical thinker, and a yogi. In short, he is a brother, a mentor, and one of my most cherished coworkers and compatriots. Of course, when you think of Doug, you also think of unreturned phone calls, tight, very tight deadlines, sprinting through the airport trying to catch a flight after having an extra beer in the bar, always looking for coffee and a power outlet, no matter where in the world you might find yourself…but ultimately, Doug is loyal and ethical almost to a fault, if that is possible. He is one of my best friends, and I wouldn’t be where I am without him.
Emma Athena, Freelance Writer
When did I first meet Doug? I cannot recall. Somehow he seems to have been in my life since the beginning of my years in Boulder. A mainstay at my favorite coffee shop, when I’d take my Americano and computer to a table, Doug would already be hammering his keyboard from the chair by the fireplace or another two-top in the corner. Several times a week, we clocked into the same yoga studio, and when the pandemic hit, for more than a year, both of us joined a favorite teacher’s virtual gathering on a weekly basis. I was a green reporter when we first met, and Doug entrusted me with assignments that helped me grow not only as a journalist but also a human being. I’m a better storyteller and dreamer, thanks to him!
Eric “Hende” Henderson, Owner Meteorite PR
So many memories capture Doug: steep summits, deep powder, flowing rivers, hot and dusty bike rides, and endless laughs. Our time on the trails together is filled with sweat, wisdom, and love for the world’s splendor. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But the real miracle is not to walk on water or in thin air but on earth and share that with the community. The first time I met Doug, he won the Salewa scramble, a multisport outing encompassing rock hopping, carrying heavy weight, and moving seamlessly through the terrain. Upon reaching the summit first and winning, he encouraged the others and cheered with glee to be outside with his pals, doing what he loves best. Doug, keep chugging life and Go outside!
