Time & Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)
Directions: From Highway 101 at Santa Rosa go west on Highway 12 to Stony Point Road Exit. Go straight from the middle lane at the light onto Occidental Road. The Round Table Pizza is on the right just down the road.
Adrian Ballinger is a IFMGA guide, professional big mountain climber/skier, and owner & founder of Alpenglow Expeditions. Adrian has 12 summits of 8000 meter peaks (6x Everest, 4x Manaslu, 1x Cho Oyu, 1x Lhotse), 4 ski attempts of 8000 meter peaks (2 successful – Manaslu & Cho Oyu), and is the only person to ski from the summit of Manaslu (8th tallest peak in the world). Adrian has attempted to ski Makalu before, in 2012, and although he did not reach the summit due to poor weather conditions, he managed to ski from below the summit at 25,000.
Makalu, the 5th tallest peak in the world, presents a uniquely beautiful and ambitious challenge in a rarely-traveled part of Nepal. Adrian Ballinger, Emily Harrington, Hilaree O’Neill, Jim Morrison, and Kit DesLauriers will aim to test themselves as high altitude climbers while advancing an embattled sport in a post-earthquake Nepal. The team will also be taking on two groundbreaking objectives: (1) Hilaree and Emily will attempt to summit Makalu without the use of supplemental oxygen (2) Adrian, Kit, Hilaree, and Jim will attempt the first ski decent from the summit.
At 8466m (27,776ft), Makalu will be the ultimate challenge in modern mountaineering and high altitude skiing.
