Steve Boyer grew up on a sheep ranch in Wyoming. He completed a degree in geology and biology at Yale University in 1969 and a Masters degree in Quaternary Geology at the University of Colorado in 1972. He remained in Colorado for medical school and internship before coming to Oregon for his residency in Emergency Medicine which he completed in 1981. He worked in Portland for Kaiser for 13 years and at St. Vincent Hospital for another nine years before retiring from Emergency Medicine in 2005. He continues to do disaster relief work overseas and consults in travel and high altitude medicine.

In his work as a physician, geologist, and professional mountaineer, Steve has traveled extensively on every continent while participating in eight Himalayan and four polar expeditions and doing medical work in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa. His most challenging medical practice sites have been on K2 in Pakistan, on Everest and Annapurna in Nepal, and in the countries of Afghanistan, Sudan (Darfur), and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has lectured on the history and causes of the conflicts in Darfur and Eastern Congo bringing into focus the contributions of geology and international law.