Kurt Kleiner was a Bitterroot big wall climber in the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s who
shifted his focus to formation skydiving, paragliding, and flying airplanes and sailplanes.
He recently retired as a state/regional Aviation Manager and moved back to the
Bitterroot after a long career in wildland fire for NPS, USFS, and BLM. In addition to
being an amateur mountain aerial photographer, he is especially passionate about
teaching people to fly as an active, experienced FAA Certified Flight Instructor (CFI)
with over 4,700 flight hours logged. In the summer, he flies a Cessna 182 for a USFS
contractor performing aerial fire reconnaissance and detection missions for the
Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests. He enjoys hiking, skiing, and leading occasional
easy trad routes with a Silent Partner solo belay system.