Instructors
Peak Rescue’s mission is to provide each client or organization with cutting edge skills and education to prevent catastrophe. We also respond to difficult rescue scenarios with the safest and most effective techniques available to rescuers.
Every Peak Rescue instructor is certified and required to continue working in the field to maintain a practical approach to rope rescue. They have each spent thousands of hours performing work around the globe in challenging conditions using rope rescue techniques, ingenuity, and common sense. Our instructors bring a high level of patience, sense of humor, and clarity in communication throughout the course to put you in the best position possible for your next technical rescue should it occur.
Micah Rush
Lead Instructor
Micah’s knowledge and expertise is both varied and strong. With over 20 years experience as a rope rescue technician, a seasoned fire fighter/ first responder, and mountain guide, Micah brings a wide variety of rescue skills and knowledge to share. Micah is one of the only rescue techs in the country with Rope Access, Rope Rescue, Mountain Rescue, ITRA Registered Assessor, ITRA Instructor Confined Space & Rope Level 3, and the full International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) certifications. This unique blend of knowledge ranging from backcountry rescue to industrial rescue, allowed Micah to become a leader in these areas within the Fire Department and the Regional Rescue Teams. He has helped to inform OSHA as they create new guidelines surrounding rock climbing and guiding as well as testing both recreational and industrial rescue equipment for leading companies.
As a professional mountain guide and rescue team coordinator, Micah has real world advice and experience as well as knowledge and theory from some of the highest standards in the business to pass on to each student he comes into contact with
Eric Christensen
Lead Instructor
Eric Christensen graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. In addition to his chemistry degree, he also holds an Associates from Casper College in Biology and many technical certifications in industrial and fire based rescue services. Eric started his career in chemistry but made a career change in Jan 2006 when he pursued a career involving firefighting, hazmat, confined space and high angle rescue with the Los Alamos County Fire Department in New Mexico. After obtaining a Department of Defense Federal Q Security Clearance, Eric was able to provide ALS ambulance services, confined space, high angle rescue, and other firefighter services for the city of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Eric later relocated back to his home town of Casper, WY and currently serves as a Firefighter/EMT-I for the Casper Fire Department. He is now the department’s lead trainer in high angle and confined space rescue and serves as an instructor here at Peak Rescue.
Tye Herron
Lead Instructor
Tye is a Casper native and has grown up exploring the Wyoming mountains and wilderness. He enjoys camping, skiing, hiking, climbing, and mountaineering in his spare time. Tye has two sons and a daughter with whom he loves to teach and share his passion for outdoor sports and nature.
Tye is a 17 year veteran on the Casper Fire-EMS department in Casper, WY. He is an Engineer EMT-I on Rescue 1 where his experience responding to various rescue emergencies, including High Angle, Structure and Trench incidents, brings “real world” know how to Peak Rescue.
Shortly after finding his calling as a Firefighter, Tye began teaching Technical Rescue to aspiring Firefighters at Casper College. His expertise led him to positions of leadership on the rescue teams with the fire department and eventually he teamed up with Micah and Peak Rescue around 2010. Tye holds several certifications in the field of technical and wilderness rescue, and he still loves learning about new techniques and equipment.
Toph Steinhoff
Lead Instructor
Toph spent most of his childhood in the Wyoming outdoors enjoying hunting, fishing, camping and exploring. While going to college he worked as a wildland firefighter for the BLM and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s in resource management. Many years later he transitioned into the structure firefighting world and found his passion for technical rescue. He holds many certifications and has obtained invaluable knowledge through training and real-world experience. In addition, he serves on an extrication module specializing in removing injured firefighters and civilians from remote areas of the backcountry.
Toph has been to countless 80s rock concerts and brings an upbeat positive attitude to every situation he encounters. He lives by two credos in life; you can't have no in your heart and life is a garden...dig it! He enjoys anything outdoors and spending time with his family. He is the newest addition to the Peak Rescue team but has proved to be an invaluable asset in and out of the classroom.
Andrew Sundell
Instructor
Andrew was born and raised in Wyoming where he spent many a day wandering the great outdoors in search of fossils and freedom. After completing a bachelor's degree in physiology at the University of Wyoming, he came home and stumbled into the Fire Service quite by accident. The fit was good though and he has now been a member of the Casper Fire-EMS Department for over 10 years.
Andrew began his career as an educator about the same time he started with the CFD. He taught basic and advanced life support classes for the fire department and surrounding agencies for almost a decade before he began transitioning to the rescue world and joined us here at Peak Rescue. He is extremely passionate about teaching others and helping them reach their potential as rescuers. When he's not working, he can still be found wandering the outdoors in search of adventure.