Nothing but nature in this calendar

By Phoebe Sweet (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

Taking his clothes off and appearing in a beefcake calendar didn't scare 39-year-old Todd Kincaid. On the other hand, falling from the Grand Canyon rock outcropping where he posed, in nothing but his climbing shoes and a chalk bag, did.

He clung to a striking red rock high above the ground at Gold Butte in Clark County, risking life, limb and sunburn to become Mr. January. Shedding his outwear to protect the great outdoors.

He and the other "Wild Men of Wild Nevada" bared it all to benefit the Nevada Wilderness Project, which has preserved nearly 2.5 million acres of the state's wildest and most beautiful places. The men gathered on Friday at Rain nightclub at the Palms to celebrate the launch of the 2008 calendar, the group's second effort.

Picture nature-loving hunks of all ages - in full-color going the Full Monty - with a climbing rope, hiking poles, mandolins or rock outcroppings covering their naughty bits.

Proceeds from the launch party and calendar, which is available at www.wildnevada.org for $20, will go toward inventorying and preserving Nevada wilderness, according to Mackenzie Banta, development director of the nonprofit preservation group. Organizers sold 500 calendars last year and hope to peddle 1,000 this year. Mr. February, 26-year-old Cameron Johnson, said he didn't exactly volunteer to pose in mittens, hat and hiking boots in front of Boundary Peak in Esmeralda County.

"Coerced would be a better word," he quipped.

Kristie Connolly, Nevada Wilderness Project assistant director, strong-armed Johnson and her husband, Kincaid, into posing and then shot their photographs.

"She said I would have to help out if there was a gap to fill," Kincaid said. "The gap was right out the gate."

Kincaid also posed for last year's inaugural calendar.

Mr. October, 23-year-old Nick Dobric, was less reticent to pose. The fresh-faced Las Vegas resident who loves backpacking in the Nevada wilderness said he first learned of the calendar while interviewing for a job with the Wilderness Project.

"I was excited to join the staff. It's things like this that make us fresh."

Dobric posed standing on his head in Eldorado wilderness in Clark County.

"In the wilderness you can be free," Dobric, the only pinup who is single and unattached, joked as outdoorsy women of a certain age prowled the party, chatting up the models and asking for autographs.

And with free drinks flowing, dance music pumping and nudity in the air, a few wilderness-loving women said they, too, would consider baring it all for the cause.

"It's very tastefully done," said 37-year-old Hazel Wong of Las Vegas.

Mr. July, 52-year-old John Schiek, joked that it was more than just good taste and environmental stewardship that made him decide to pose for this year's calendar. Liquor, too, played a considerable role. Schiek, whose wife serves on the project's board, said he downed a few beers before his shoot near their Lake Tahoe home. He also posed last year.

"These guys conned me into this on a camping trip last year," Schiek said. "But if I'm going to take my clothes off for anyone, it would be these guys."