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mission and vision

 

Mission

Alta Andina crafts products using natural and recycled materials within our sustainable & ethical supply chain located entirely in the Andean region. We are driven by our commitment to conserve the environment, traditions, and heritage of the Andean region.

Vision

Shift consumer demand and industry standards toward responsibly sourced and manufactured products.

meet the team

Alta Andina is comprised of five founding members – Greg Krupa, Ryan Hood, David Gamburd, Tyler Andrews and Paul Quiñonez.

David Gamburd

As President of Alta Andina, David Gamburd manages all day to day operations of the business. He writes all Alta Andina’s content, copy, and communications. David’s entire career has been dedicated to protecting the environment. After graduating from University of Oregon, he began fundraising for nonprofits, then selling residential solar systems. David, his wife Cori Jo, and their dog Autzen all lived in Quito, Ecuador for 2 years during the time Alta Andina built its supply chain. All three currently live in Portland, Oregon.

Ryan Hood

In addition to his work as head of operations and supply chain, Ryan Hood is the owner and founder of Bandido Brewing. The first Bandido’s location in Ecuador was in a dangerous area of old town Quito before Bandidos helped turn the area around by working with the local municipality to provide municipal service for the whole neighborhood; something that had been absent before.

Bandidos has recently opened its third location. Ryan is an Ecuadorian citizen and would be happy to sing the Ecuadorian national anthem for you, or show you his passport.

Greg Krupa

In addition to his work as CEO of Alta Andina, Greg Krupa is also the owner and founder of Novulis, a social enterprise that owns and operates mobile dental clinics to provide affordable care for workers all over Ecuador.

Greg received his global MBA from Tulane and University of Chile and before that received his undergraduate degree from University of Oregon. Novulis has expanded its capacity significantly in under two years and has delivered care to thousands of patients around the country. Greg and his older brother Dave (and his two daughters) live in Quito, Ecuador as well.

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Paúl Quiñonez

Paul Quiñonez is a lawyer, entrepreneur and administrator. Armed with both a law degree and an MBA, Paul is focused on creating positive impact for Ecuador and the Andean region and helps Alta Andina with almost everything.

A native Quiteño, Paul perfected his English through an exchange program at Indiana University. In Quito, Paul lives with his wife Maria Paz and their dog Lorenzo.

OUR AMBASSADORS

Karl Egloff

Karl Egloff is Ecuador’s, and the world’s, fastest mountain climber. At Alta Andina, we affectionately refer to him as the human vicuña, as he thrives at high altitudes and in cold weather. At an early age, Karl’s father, a well respected swiss climber living in Ecuador, exposed Karl to the mountain. Before Karl got into speed climbing, he was a mountain biker where he amassed victories in Ecuador and competed in international competitions on behalf of his home country many times. Legend has it that once a friend said – “hey Karl, you should really try your luck on the mountain.” Mid athletic career, Karl started obliterating fastest known times on mountains around the world. In back to back years, Karl gained international notoriety by marking the fastest known time up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and the year after, Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. Currently, Karl owns the fastest known time on several other mountains around the Andes and the world. For Alta Andina, Karl is more than a brand ambassador, Karl is inspiration.

Karl Karl prides himself as a family man and lives with his wife Adriana and child 2 year old Julian in Tumbaco, just outside of Quito, where he trains nearby in the Andes mountains. Check out his website.

Speed Climbing World Records

Elbrus, Russia

mts, 4hr 20min

Aconcagua, Argentina

mts, 11hr 52min

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

mts, 6hr 42min

Huascarán, Perú

mts, 11hr 00min

Cerro Plomo, Chile

mts, 5hr 55min

Cotopaxi, Ecuador

mts, 1hr 37min

Tyler Andrews

Tyler Andrews is an American professional long distance and ultra-marathon runner. He is a world record holder in the track 50K, has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2016 and 2020, and has established himself as a national caliber marathon runner and world-class ultra-marathoner. Tyler is the 3-time champion at the Vermont City Marathon, the course record holder at the Mohawk Hudson Marathon (2:15:52), and finished 2nd at the 50K World Championships in 2016. Additionally, Tyler holds the world record for the fastest half marathon run on a treadmill of 63:38.

Tyler’s path into the world of running was similar to any trail you may find in Ecuador or Peru, full of ups and downs. As a high school athlete, Tyler really only started running to fulfill his school’s athletic requirement; but in his senior year his new coach, Jon Waldron, inspired Tyler to take the sport more seriously and focus on self-improvement day-to-day. With a new desire to get better, Tyler spent the summer after graduating from high school training at high altitude in Quito, Ecuador.

He continued his training and racing when he attended Skidmore College the next year, despite having no cross country or track teams, before transferring to Tufts University to pursue an NCAA career and a degree in mechanical engineering. After graduating from Tufts, Tyler felt called by the beautiful Ecuadorian mountains and high altitude terrain. He returned to Quito, working in a hostel and chasing the dream of becoming a professional runner, and serendipitously met his eventual business partners Ryan Hood and then Greg Krupa. Little did they both know their meeting would lead to their relationship at Alta Andina.
Through his time training at high altitude in Quito over the years, Tyler developed a love for the region. In 2011, he began working for STRIVE, a company which organizes programs for high school and college athletes to train at altitude, learn about Andean culture, and give back to local communities during the summers, just as he had done himself. Before his 8th summer in Peru with STRIVE, Tyler and his partner Mariana spent the spring back in Quito. During this stint, Ryan, Greg, and David Gamburd would work with Tyler to make him a partner in Alta Andina – the result of over a year of conversations between the group. Tyler’s love for training at high altitude made him a perfect fit as brand ambassador.

OUR VALUES

Design Ethos: We have a responsibility to our planet. We design, and produce with the user and nature in mind.

Cooperation: We cooperate with communities, NGOs, governments, and other enterprises to fulfill our values.

Adaption: Products and companies should adapt to the changing needs of consumers and the planet.

Transparency: Consumers deserve to understand the true impact of the products they consume. We aim to provide full transparency and measure our impact to empower consumers to make more informed purchases.

Creativity: Nature inspires our best ideas.

Wellbeing: Companies often sacrifice health for profit. We prioritize the health and wellbeing of our stakeholders and the planet.
Outdoor Activism: Outdoor recreation and activism should be one in the same; people protect the things they value. The more time we spend outdoors, the harder it is for special interests to exploit natural spaces. So get outside.