Human-Powered Mountaineers: Duo takes on challenge to promote organic foods
By BEN PIERCE Chronicle Outdoors
Bozeman residents Chris Bangs and Justene Sweet of Human-Powered Mountaineers have a long road ahead of them.
On June 20, the pair will depart Bozeman on a 1,200-mile return bike trip to the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia. Once in the Bugaboos, Bangs and Sweet will attempt to summit 12 of the range’s most iconic peaks including Bugaboo Spire (10,511 feet), Pigeon Spire (10,354 feet) and Snowpatch Spire (10,118 feet). Along the way they’ll be spreading the word about natural foods and sustainable agriculture while visiting organic farms and farmers markets on their route.
“Because of the endurance aspect of what we are doing, we need quality food,” Sweet said. “When I am biking, I know that I need good food that isn’t going to make me feel unhealthy … I have always been interested in politics and activism, and I have always loved food. Promoting organic food is my way of being an activist.”
Bangs said the catalyst for Human-Powered Mountaineers was a challenge from his father.
Working as a house painter in Missoula in 2002, Bangs decided he wanted to go for a climbing trip in Wyoming’s Teton Range. Tired of hitchhiking and riding Greyhound, Bangs’ father offered up an old mountain bike and trailer. “He told me ‘it’s only 450 miles, you’ll be there in a week,’” Bangs said.
Nine days later, Bangs arrived in the Tetons and set his sights on Mt. Moran. He climbed three of the highest peaks in the Tetons and skied Skillet Glacier before turning his bike back toward Montana.
“It really sunk in when I was riding my bike back to Missoula,” Bangs said. “I was amazed at what I had just done.”
Three expeditions later, having tackled 11 summits, biked 6,000 miles and climbed over 37,000 vertical feet, Bangs took his message of fitness and organic farming to the public. He has shared the story of Human-Powered Mountaineers with students at Bozeman High School and Whittier Elementary School with slideshows of his trips and a discussion about the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices.
The trip to the Bugaboos will be Bangs’ fifth and most ambitious trip to date. Bangs and Sweet will pedal all their gear from Bozeman to the Bugaboos in trailers behind their bikes. The loads will include their climbing gear (crampons, ice axes, cams, rope), their camping gear (cook kits, tent, sleeping bags) and clothes, toiletries and other essentials.
They have arranged tours of three organic farms along the way — Chase Farm in Helena, Walking Bear Farm in Whitefish and Ten Lakes Farm in Eureka. Bangs and Sweet will purchase food from the farms to power them through the trip.
And they hope to glean a little more about organic farming along the way.
“We want to learn how these farms got their start,” Bangs said. “We want to learn how they run their business, where they sell their food, what they are growing and how much they grow.”
Bangs said Human-Powered Mountaineers’ mission to promote organic food and sustainable agriculture is the result of a generational shift in the way people eat. He said 50 year ago many people lived on small farms or ate food produced locally. As the U.S. has become more industrialized and the workforce has moved further away from agriculture, Bangs said finding quality foods has become increasingly difficult.
With obesity, diabetes and heart disease among the health problems facing many Americans, Bangs said now is the time to rethink what and how we eat.
“It is a huge issue right now,” he said. “Many people are being affected by health issues and they are turning to organic foods. People are really waking up to the fact that what they put in their bodies is super important.”
Bangs said genetically-engineered foods, prepackaged and loaded with preservatives, can be a real drag on the body when exerting massive amounts of energy biking and climbing. He said finding quality food has been the biggest hurdle in all of his previous expeditions.
“Even at a grocery store or small town mercantile, besides grabbing a non-organic orange or apple, there is nothing in that store I would eat,” Bangs said “I have definitely ended up in places where all I have is Wonder Bread and Jif peanut butter. I can’t go 50 miles a day on that.”
While the ride to the Bugaboos may be at times exhausting, Bangs said spreading the word about organic farming should be relatively easy.
Bangs said travelling by bicycle as opposed to car puts things in a different perspective. He said biking allows you to take time to speak with those you meet along the way.
“The bicycle is a great conversation piece. It is our welcome flag,” Bangs said. “People always want to know where you are from, where you are going, how many miles you did that day. There is usually something that sparks their interest and creates that opportunity to talk.”
Bangs and Sweet plan to return from the Bugaboos in the fall with a new story to share.
“I would like to talk about what we can do rather than what we should be doing,” Bangs said. “I grew up on a small organic farm in Missoula. I am combining those things I have done and I want to share my story in a way that is educational.”
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