Mikey Schaefer

Mikey Schaefer is a photographer, filmmaker and climber with a post office box in Yosemite National Park, roots in the Pacific Northwest and a shack in El Chalten, Argentina. He embraced the climbing life as teenager, moved to Yosemite and eventually began pioneering difficult routes, first in Yosemite and then in the world's out-of-the-way places. His commitment to the vertical life evolved into telling visual stories for the likes of National Geographic and Outside magazines. His heart still remains in Yosemite's sweeping cliff lines, quiet grottos and improbable moon rises. "When you've known a place for so long, that's when you begin to know the subtleties of light and setting," says Schaefer. "There's nothing subtle about the summer full moon,” he says about filming Moonwalker (Mountainfilm 2012). “The difficulties lie in knowing where to be and when."