Frederick grew up on the water, canoeing and camping across the Canadian Shield at summer camp Keewaydin. During his summer breaks from Middlebury College, he launched his whitewater guiding career at Mad River Boat Trips in Jackson Hole. That work took him to waterways in Utah, Colorado, West Virginia, Alaska, and Baja, Mexico, primarily leading expeditions for the Colorado Outward Bound School. Spending that much time in a paddlecraft, you can’t help but intuit what constitutes a healthy natural aquatic ecosystem.
When he tired of living out of his Honda Civic, Frederick returned to Jackson Hole and shifted to writing about outdoor adventure. He has published work in a dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Outside, Ski, Powder, Bloomberg, and Canoe and Kayak magazine, where he served as editor-in-chief. He’s written and reported on whitewater expeditions in Peru and India, the economic and political power of the outdoor industry, and the scientific explanation for the health benefits of time spent outside.
Frederick joined the staff of POWJH in the Spring 2026, heeding the call to help protect his home waters at a critical intersection of population growth and changing environmental conditions. When not at work you can find Frederick and his wife Eve Barnett and son Leif traversing the watershed on skis, bike, and various paddlecraft.