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Our Staff
The most important element of any Telluride Adventure is our skilled, dedicated and caring staff. Every San Juan Outdoor School staff member is a highly qualified technical instructor, a knowledgeable and experienced teacher, and a nurturing leader. Safety is our number one priority and our staff will work with your individual needs to create a course that is comfortable for even the most timid guests.

Each of our staff members retain several of the following certifications:

- Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
- Wilderness First Responder / First Aid Certification
- Low to High Angle Rescue
- Outdoor Emergency Care Technician
- CPR for the Healthcare Provider / Professional Rescuer
- Avalanche Courses Level I -III
- AMGA Certification & Membership
- American Avalanche Association Professional Membership

Josh Butson - Owner, Lead Instructor Guide
Josh is the owner of the San Juan Outdoor School and has been one of the premier guides for the past three years. Josh has been guiding for over eight years and possess a strong knowledge of the San Juan Mountains. He grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where he was introduced to climbing, paddling, mountaineering, and skiing. From an early age he made it a point to find new places to explore. Some of his favorite destinations are Joshua Tree, Zion, Red Rocks, the Adirondacks, Acadia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Josh has a love and appreciation for the natural world, which makes him passionate in sharing this love with others. Josh's education includes a B.S. in Adventure Based Recreation Program Management and an Associates in Outdoor Recreation. Some of his certifications and training include American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Top Rope Certification, AMGA rock instructor course, AIARE)Level II professional avalanche training, WFR, and CPR for the Health Care Provider. Josh lives in Telluride, Colorado with his wife Tara and their dog, Jasmine.

Tara Butson - Manager, Instructor Guide
Tara has a variety of experience in the outdoor industry. Her most recent experience was with Alternative Youth Adventures a wilderness therapy program with the department of youth and corrections. She worked as their medical director for two years giving her a strong knowledge of risk managmet and emergency protocols. Some of her other experience inclued working for a wilderness therapy program in NH as a team leader guiding land and water based activities for several years. She has also been a Wilderness Education Association instructor, interpretative guide, and a paddling instructor. Tara's education includes a B.S. in Adventure Based Recreation Program Management and an Associates in Outdoor Recreation. Some of her certifications and training include WEMT, ( AIARE)Level 1 avalanche training, and CPR for the Health Care Provider.

Jason Kroll - Instructor Guide
Jason Kroll has over 10 years of experience working in the outdoor industry in a variety of realms. He is an accomplished climbing and mountaineering guide as well as a certified Top-Rope Site Manager by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and Wilderness First Responder. He has worked for a variety of outdoor programs throughout the United States including the Chadwick School, Prescott College, Azure Adventure Professionals, and the Athenian School. Jason excels at working with people of all ages and abilities and enjoys doing so. As a former owner and lead guide for Rubicon Outdoors in Prescott, Arizona, Jason guided backpacking, rock climbing, mountaineering, wilderness therapy, and adventure travel for youth, adults, families and groups. Jason currently lives in Mancos, Colorado.

Nicole Greene - Founder & Instructor Guide
Nicole is the founder of both San Juan Outdoor School and the affiliated non-profit, tax-exempt San Juan Field School which have become Telluride's source for field-based educational adventures. Nicole's commitment to experiential education is the harvest of her experiences working in a variety of educational settings and with a number of different populations. Nicole has also worked as a naturalist, hiking and climbing guide for Lizard Head Mountain Guides of Telluride Outside, a kayaking instructor for the San Juan Rivers Paddling School, a facilitator for Telluride Teamworks and the Faraway Adventure Program, and as a professional ski patroller for the Telluride Ski and Golf Company. As a long time member of San Miguel County Search and Rescue, she is also a certified Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician with specific training in Low to High Angle Rescue, Outdoor Emergency Care, and Swiftwater Rescue. Nicole's winter mountaineering skills are enhanced by her experience as a professional member of the American Avalanche Association, an instructor for the Silverton Avalanche School and the Silverton Outdoor Learning and Recreation Center. Nicole lives with her dog Moki amidst the wild beauty of Ophir, Colorado to which she becomes more attached every day.

Eric Larson - Instructor Guide
Eric Larson's superior alpine mountaineering skills come from ten years of teaching climbing for a variety of companies and schools. Although much of his guiding and instructing has been in Colorado, he has also worked in the Himalaya, Alaska, the Cascades, and throughout the United States . Eric is a member of the Snow Safety Team for the Telluride Ski Patrol and spends his winters studying and mitigating avalanche hazard for the ski area. As a guide for Alpine Ascents International, Eric travels to Alaska each spring to serve as an Expedition Leader on Denali or to climb the Moose's Tooth, Gargoyle Wall, Mt. Barrell, Kahiltna Dome, Frances, Crosson, among others. Most recently Eric summited Cho-Oyu, the world's sixth highest summit (8201 meters) as the leader of a successful 2003 expedition. Eric makes his home in Telluride where he lives with his wife, Kat.

John Malloy - Instructor Guide
John came to Telluride from Ashland Oregon to work for both the San Juan Outdoor School as well as the nonprofit San Juan Field School. His experience in the field spans a dozen years of climbing, hiking, guiding, and teaching with a variety of schools and programs, including the Colorado State University Outdoor Program, Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, the Colorado Outward Bound School, Southern Oregon University's Mountaineering Program and CEDU Family of Services in Naples, Idaho. John is currently working on his Masters in Environmental Education at Southern Oregon University with a focus in field-based learning, a project he recently presented at the Association for Experiential Education Northwest Regional Conference. The ecological themes established in John's Masters project will aid him in designing programs offered through the San Juan Field School. When not in school, guiding or teaching, John may be found kayaking the many rivers of Oregon, Northern California, and Colorado or practicing Bikram yoga.

Jacob Nacht -Instructor Guide
Jacob Nacht was born in Colorado Springs. He received a degree in Outdoor/Experiential Education & Natural History from Northland College in Ashland , WI . Jacob has lived and worked throughout the Western United States , Canada & Alaska. He has been employed in the summer as a river guide, a rock climbing & mountaineering guide, wilderness trip leader, and a natural history & field science educator. In the winter he works as a backcountry ski guide. Jacob is certified; as a Wilderness First Responder, in swiftwater rescue, and has attended level 2 avalanche course. Jacob has also worked at numerous organic farms and in eco-forestry and nursery settings. When not working as a guide, runs his own carpentry & custom woodworking business. He is an avid gardener and hockey player at his beautiful home in Ridgway, Colorado .

Hilaree O'Neil - Instructor Guide
As a North Face Athlete, Hilaree O’Neill has traveled to just about every remote corner of the globe in pursuit of awe-inspiring mountains, foreign cultures and adventure. Her alpine skills were learned while living for several years in the French Alps and she now enjoys using those skills to guide and teach others. For several years she has worked as a heli-ski guide in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, she has been on numerous expeditions to such places as Mongolia, the Isle of South Georgia and India, and she runs a variety of camps educating women about backcountry skiing and avalanche safety skills. Hilaree has been a resident of Telluride for the past four years and is now working as a climbing guide for San Juan Outdoor School in her hometown.

Sarah Pratt - Instructor Guide
Sarah was born in Chicago, Illinois but has called Prescott, Arizona home for the past four years. Sarah has been climbing for six years and has taught rock climbing all around the United States. She has instructed and guided for The Wilderness School, Prescott College, Athenian, and Rubicon Outdoors.  Sarah is currently a Wilderness First Responder. In December, Sarah graduated from Prescott College receiving her Bachelors degree in Adventure Education. For her senior project, Sarah tackled an enormous task consisting of both researching and educating local climbers about the different land management agencies that govern Prescott’s climbing areas. This project opened the lines of communication between the climbing community and various agencies. In her free time, Sarah enjoys hiking, climbing, and knitting.