Nate Prosman, a manager at the Estes Park MountainShop, is an avid outdoorsman.

During his childhood, Nate Prosman embarked on numerous wilderness adventures and camping trips in Colorado. These trips were key in shaping his deep connection with the outdoors. “My dad and my uncle would take my sister and I up into the mountains almost every chance we got when we were little. It was definitely taught to us young. We got a lot of our skills and a lot of our love of the outdoors from my dad and uncle,” said Prosman. From the age of 5 or 6 to about 13, Nate Prosman and his sister often went backpacking with their dad.

The camping trips Nate went on as a kid were usually near Leadville, Fairplay and Bailey. He didn’t really start exploring Estes Park until his college years.

While attending the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Nate’s love of the outdoors blossomed even further. “Being in Greeley, we weren’t far from Estes and Rocky Mountain National Park. So my buddies and I would often get out this way, and almost every chance we got go fly-fishing up here in the park and Big Thompson,” said Prosman.

It was also during his college years when Nate came to an important realization. This realization would have a significant impact on his future career. “I realized that I could get credit for doing things in the outdoors, and that kind of blew my mind. I know it sounds like I took the easy way out in school, but it was crazy to me that I could actually do something I loved, and turn that into work,” said Prosman. Driven by his passion for the outdoors, Nate pursued a degree in Recreation and Tourism Management and a minor in Outdoor Education, at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

For his degree, Nate was required to attain a particular number of internship hours. He landed an internship at the Estes Park Mountain Shop, which would set the stage for Nate’s future in Estes Park. After finishing his degree at UNC [University of Northern Colorado], Nate was offered a full-time job at the mountain shop. He moved to Estes Park right out of college, to take up the job.

Nate now works as a manager at the local Estes Park retailer. As a manager he wears many different hats. “I’ll fix a bike, wax skis and snowboards. Last week we had a water issue, so I was out in my bare feet in the pump house in a foot of water. Today I was installing shelves,” said Prosman.

Nate Prosman has been working at the mountain shop for around 9 years. He’s truly an avid outdoorsman, in every sense of the word. Nate frequently ventures into the wilderness, to go mountain biking, fly-fishing, hunting and backcountry snowboarding.

His favorite outdoor sport is split boarding, a specific type of backcountry snowboarding. Nate regularly drives into Rocky Mountain National Park, to split board down Hidden Valley.

Daniel Crist, the climbing gear buyer at Estes Park Mountain Shop, goes backcountry split boarding with Nate. “We do a fair amount of backcountry split boarding in the park here. We usually do an early morning thing before work,” said Crist. Andrew Roach, another one of his coworkers at the Estes Park Mountain Shop, also goes on these trips. Every Wednesday morning, Andrew and Nate drive into Rocky Mountain National Park to snowboard. “We go all over the place. We go to Hidden Valley and the Bear Lake area a lot. Nate and I have been talking about trying to do an overnight trip for a long time,” said Roach.

In the summer months, Nate enjoys mountain biking and fly-fishing. He also goes rock climbing, but not quite as often. “Rock climbing is something I enjoy doing with friends. But it’s definitely not one of my priorities,” said Prosman.

When Nate is seeking solitude, he enjoys fly-fishing. “Fly-fishing I love doing by myself, just having me time. I feel like I can just get in my zone and do my thing and go where I want and do what I want,” said Prosman.

Nate’s love for the outdoors is infectious, and has had a significant impact on many of his coworkers. “He’s definitely taught me almost everything I know about split boarding and mountain biking. So talk about infectious. His love for those things really inspired me to learn more about the technicality of those things, rather than the actual sport,” said Roach.