- OWNERS -
Rainer Zahnen
I am originally from Germany, and the founder and owner of Alaska-Wildlife-Guide LLC. I am a true outdoors person who enjoys sharing Alaska’s fascinating beauty with all our guests from around the world.
My passions are canoeing, hunting, fishing, hiking and snow machining. However, despite preferring the outdoors, my main job is managing the Tour company.
Jutta Zahnen
When I visited Alaska for the first time I fell in love with this incredible nature. After we settled in North Pole, and set up my husband’s company, we were asked so many times: “Where can we stay overnight?” We came up with the idea to build a cabin and rent it out, the customers just love it. I am responsible for all the good stuff that our customers receive on our tours like homemade stew, sandwiches, coffee and punch as well as the personalized lunch bags for each tour guest. You find me in the back but I am always there.
- OUR TOUR GUIDES -
We are so lucky to have found guides who believe in the ideas and goals of our business philosophy. We are very proud to have very knowledgeable, high motivated, extremely active and flexible people who live in Alaska not just for a short time, but year round. They know Alaska and the life in “The Last Frontier” and guide you through our special and interesting tours. Most of our guides are multilingual what helps to connect to our guests very well.
Tony
As a kid growing up in Alaska, I brought a whole sled dog team into sixth grade for presentation and rides in the playground at recess. Spent many years commercial fishing in Cook inlet. Have traveled both domestic and across the pond. While travel is fundamental to life for me, Alaska is the girlfriend I always come home to. Lived in everything from a WW2 bunker in Dutch Harbor AK with Siberian rats, to a castle in Boston Massachusetts. I have stories for days and educating people on what I’ve lived and learned, has always been a good way to showcase Alaska, “The Great Land”.
Logan
Logan is originally from the small town of Cranberry Lake, NY. After listening to stories of friends and relatives working and living in Alaska he moved here in 2023 capping off his list of living in the five US states with the lowest populations. He is an archaeologist by trade and has spent his career working in the Mountain West and Great Plains. His outdoor interests stem from his family working in the conservation industry and they include hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, snow machining, and scuba diving.
Kevin
Hi! My name’s Kevin, and I am one of the fortunate folks with the privilege to drive for AWG. I’m a lifelong Alaskan with 4 kids and two grandkids plus a wife who says I get into too much trouble if I am not kept busy. I have been a teacher for going on 24 years and love to spend my summers traveling and experiencing all Alaska has to offer. I love to hunt and fish as well as spend time with my family. I have spent time in the village of Fort Yukon, Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) as well as spent a summer on a ‘slime line’ in Southwest Alaska. I love to share my experiences with others as well as get to experience new things with those I travel with. It is a treat to see folk’s eyes light up when they see something new for the first time. Life is an adventure – if you just take the time to realize it. Hop aboard and let’s go see what’s out there!
Jacob
A native Alaskan, Jacob is from North Pole. He was a People-to-People Student Ambassador in ‘06-’07 and participated in the Rotary Youth Exchange from ’08-’09. He is an avid hiker and rock climber, and he enjoys birdwatching, hunting, & fishing (to name a few). With multiple facets between the industry and landscaping worlds, he has reached the point of rope expertise through a myriad of experiences including rope access, tower rigging, & as an arborist. After traveling across the lower 48, he has returned home to Alaska, to once again immerse himself in Alaskan Culture and the natural resources & wildlife that surround it.
Jessica
I’m originally from a small town in Northern Michigan. After a couple of years of college, I decided to join the Army Reserves and met my husband. We lived in Maine for a while before being sent to Alaska in 2011. I fell in love with the natural wonders of this place. After three years in the lower 48, we were ready to come back and make it our home. When I’m not busy taking care of my family I enjoy camping, hiking, kayaking, rockhounding and wildlife photography during the summer and aurora photography in the winter.
Jean
I grew up cruising Alaskan waters and the coastline from Seward Alaska to La Paz Mexico from the ages of 3 to 15 years old. At 15 I moved to Tennessee. I went to University in Kentucky for Nursing. My family and I moved back to Alaska in 2009. Alaska is where we want to stay. We enjoy camping, fishing, snow machines, and other ATVs. After 20 years in health care I decided I love Alaska so much I want to show it to others. That is what led me to being a Tour Guide with this exceptional company.
Kathy
I was born and raised in Port Orchard, Washington. I first came to Alaska in 1987 to work at a salmon cannery. I began living in Fairbanks permanently 1989, after working in Denali National Park and falling in love with interior Alaska. I graduated from UAF in 1992 and began my teaching career in August of that year. I returned to UAF for a Master’s Degree in School Counseling which I completed in 2005. I worked for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District until I retired in May of 2023. A guiding position sounded like a fun change and a good way to stay active, and I really enjoy being a guide for Alaska Wildlife Guide. In my spare time I am an avid hockey player, and I love all things outdoor-related. I have two grown children, and two sweet granddaughters. I also really enjoy traveling throughout the US and internationally.
Pete
I was raised in Maryland but nurtured an Alaska dream until I finally moved to Fairbanks in 1996, a couple of years after graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in civil engineering, cum laude. I am wrapping up a 30-year career as a structural engineer designing primarily building structures, primarily throughout Alaska. Guiding tours in Interior Alaska is an ideal career shift that I am enjoying part time until I retire from my day job in April of 2025, when I plan to do it more. I love meeting new people and sharing this amazing place and my experiences living here. I’ve been married since 1997. My wife, Brandy, and I have three dogs (Brittanies) and a wonderful cat. When not engineering, I enjoy reading, North American travel (I’ve been in all 50 US states and every Canadian province except Prince Edward Island), exploring Alaska by foot and road (a great part-time job, as well!), photography, and hunting grouse and ptarmigan with our Brittanies.
Gavin
I was born and raised in Fairbanks but my dad’s side of the family is from a small Alaskan Native village called Beaver. I’ve been showing off this beautiful state for the last 6 years, everything from guided hunting and fishing charters, chasing northern lights and cultural tours. I’m currently working on getting my pilot licenses so I go out and explore Alaska from the skies.
Jodi
Jodi grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. She went on to study Theater and Anthropology at Emory University. While there she wrote a proposal that got funded to study storytelling with Athabaskan elders in Fairbanks. The moment she landed in Fairbanks, Jodi says, “I knew I had found my home.” She moved to Fairbanks the day after she graduated in 1991. Jodi spent over a decade working for the College of Indigenous Studies the rural branch of University of Alaska Fairbanks. There she had the opportunity to travel to many of the Interior rural villages. It was a wonderful opportunity for her to learn more about the culture and history of Native Alaskans and to experience village life. While working for UAF, Jodi and her husband Dan bought property in Chatanika, north of Fairbanks, and built Dew Claw Kennel a competitive long distance dog kennel. In 2012, Jodi left the University to pursue dog mushing full time. She has competed in many long-distance races, including the Iditarod, which she has finished 6 times. In addition to dog mushing, Jodi enjoys paddle boarding, gardening, cooking, yoga, and creating multimedia art.
Kevin
Kevin grew up in Montana near Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, but moved to Alaska in 2008 to seek bigger mountains and to study at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He enjoys hiking, fishing, rafting, and hunting in Alaska’s wild and wonderful locations. The Brooks Range and the Arctic coastal plain are his favorite adventure destinations. He, his wife, and their Labrador retrievers are steadily checking off float trips along Alaska’s twenty-five federally designated ‘Wild and Scenic’ rivers, striving to visit a new river every summer.
Amanda
I am a born and raised Alaskan, having spent most of my life living in Fairbanks, with a second hometown in Seward, Alaska, where my family owns a vacation home where we spend time each summer. During the winter months I am an elementary school teacher and in the summers I enjoy spending time with my husband and our three boys, gardening, fishing, berry picking, hiking, and enjoying all the beauty that this amazing place has to offer. I am a Suzuki mom, having been very involved in the musical education of my sons, and I have volunteered for the Fairbanks Youth Orchestras for many years. I love Fairbanks for the adventures of summer, the beauty of its winters, and for the vibrant arts community that it is. I look forward to sharing my unique home with you!
- OFFICE EMPLOYEES -
Bryan
(General Manager)
This relatively new Alaskan was born in Honolulu and raised in San Francisco. I came here on a cruise over thirty years ago and fell in love with Alaska right away. Even though it took almost three decades, I made it back here eventually. Alaska has been the best decision I have ever made, and it brought me my amazing wife and daughter. I love all things outdoors, and I spend any free time I can find getting to know this amazing land.
Jessica
(Assistant Manager)
In Oct 2014, I visited some old Army friends at JBER in Anchorage, and I fell in absolute love with Alaska. So in Feb 2017, I packed up my 2 young kids and our dog and we made the long drive to North Pole, smack in the middle of winter, with only what we could fit in my car. As luck would have it, I met my husband and a couple years later we had to move away for the military, but I always knew we would be back! Summer of 2023 we made the trek back and are here to stay! We love everything outdoors and what the great state of Alaska has to offer our adventurous family.
Ashley
(Office Assistant)
Howdy! Originally hailing from the Midwest, I moved to Alaska in 2019 to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I am an avid adventurer, who spends any free time backpacking through America’s National Parks [to achieve my goal of visiting all of them: I’m currently halfway there!]. From getting stuck in a blizzard on a volcano in Hawaii, to snorkeling with sea turtles in the Virgin Islands; to dog mushing in Alaska & summiting Angel’s Landing in Utah, I have had my share of exciting experiences. Lucky for me, the Last Frontier never fails to offer something wonderful with each new day.
- WORKSHOP STAFF -
Steven
(Van Detailer)
Hi, I’m Steven. I was born and raised in the Interior of Alaska. My dad’s family is from Fort Yukon, AK, where I spent a lot of my childhood learning about my Alaska Native subsistence-lifestyle. I met my partner, Eva, in 2010. We live together in her hometown of Circle, AK, raising sled dogs. I competed in sprint sled-dog racing in Fairbanks, North Pole, Chugiak, Tok, Minto and Circle. We are now busy raising our 2-year-old daughter. We enjoy spending time outside: hiking, boating, and driving to see new places. My favorite time of year is the fall, when I can go moose hunting in my boat.
Chase
(Mechanic)
I am Alaskan born and raised. I have a passion for all things outdoors. My favorite pastimes are riding snow machines, dirt bikes and four-wheelers. When I’m not off-roading through the wilderness, you can find me hunting, fishing, boating, or in the garage- working on all things mechanical.