Steve “Doom” Fassbinder

Steve Fassbinder, known as “Doom” among his friends and within the tight-knit mountain bike industry, started adventuring at age 14. He raced single-speed mountain bikes until his 30s. But eventually he started focusing on exploring huge backcountry landscapes. Passionate about creative, human powered, low impact travel, Steve spent decades pedaling and paddling more of the Southwest United States than any other person.

Steve has published dozens of articles and photos about these adventures in magazines such as Adventure Pro, The Gulch, Bikepacking Journal, and many more. And various films that toured the adventure film circuit featured his adventures (check out “Adventure Dispatch”). Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Revelate Designs, Diaz Suspension Design, Durango Cyclery and Alpacka Raft all support his endeavors.

Steve is one of the country’s first Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructors. And he will be a certified International Rescue 3 Whitewater Rescue Technician Professional (WRT-PRO) and IRF Whitewater Packraft Guide late April 2024. He is also certified in Advanced Swiftwater Safety and as a Wilderness First Responder.

An early adopter of packrafting, he has guided or instructed bike-packrafting to kids and adults for over a decade. And he has done remote packrafting expeditions around the world for over a dozen years.

He has won three Bikepacking.com Awards: “The Ballsiest Trip” (2015), “Explorer of the Year” Award (2017), and “Best Trip Photography” (2019). And he has bikepacked thousands of miles both solo and with friends throughout the Southwest, Alaska, across the Karakoram and through Tajikistan.