Amy Ness and Myles Moser – Battling the Big Ones

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2014 @ 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.

Amy Ness and Myles Moser are residents of Lone Pine, CA. Living in Lone Pine provides access to the largest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, along with numerous other peaks in the vicinity. Although they each climbed separately before they met, it was their union in this playground of granite that inspired the fury of first ascents beginning about 4 years ago. Living in a little 1950’s turquoise trailer in the high dessert below Lone Pine Peak offers an inspiring panorama of rock to chose from. Amy teaches in the local schools, attempting to get kids interested in the outdoors while Myles prepares burgers for the hoards of hungry climbers and hikers at the Whitney Portal Store.

Battling the Big Ones…it’s not only what they do, but what they live for. From they own backyard of the Eastern Sierra and the numerous granite walls that soar over 14,000 ft. to the far southern reaches of Chile, in the Parque Nacional del Torres del Paine, they are always searching for the biggest, baddest climbs this world has to offer.

This climbing duo’s presentation will begin with their recent expedition to Patagonia where they spent 3 months living in the park and establishing a new route on the east face of Torre Norte. Then, they will disclose their unfinished project on Torre Central and the epic journey they have endured with it, thus far. Finally, they will bring it all home to the Sierra…both new and classic routes on Keeler Needle, Day Needle, Lone Pine Peak, and many more. Amy and Myles are sponsored by Trango and you can follow their adventures on their Roaming Banditos blog –

http://www.roamingbanditos.blogspot.com

Posted in Events

Kevin Jorgeson – The Impossible Wall

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Kevin Jorgeson is a Santa Rosa local, who started climbing at Vertex Climbing Center in Santa Rosa at the age of 14, and has become one of the most elite and well rounded climbers in the nation. His climbing accomplishments are numerous, but the most profound are his first ascents of hard and scary highball boulders. For the past 5 years, Kevin has been working to free “the hardest wall never climbed,” The Dawn Wall on Yosemite’s El Capitan.

They say it’s about the process, not the destination. That the sweet isn’t as sweet without the bitter. They’re not wrong, but it’s a lot easier to believe it when you have already arrived. Kevin’s slideshow won’t be about the Dawn Wall, Yosemite, or even Kevin for that matter. It will be about what it’s like to fail for five years in a row and to keep pushing when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. It will be about what it feels like to watch life milestones pass by while your project stands as stubbornly as ever.

Fresh off the Dawn Wall and in the middle of the season, Kevin will be joining the Rock Ice & Mountain Club for a glimpse into his perspective on something we all share: the process of a project. Kevin is sponsored by Adidas Outdoor, Five Ten, Black Diamond, Sterling Rope, Asana and Bolle. For more information about Kevin and his Pro Climbers International organization, check out these links:

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Andy Selters – Mountains of the Blue Sheep

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Andy Selters has been a leading figure in both the artistic and technical aspects of mountaineering for many years. As a guide and climber he has climbed from Alaska to the Cascades, Sierra and Bolivia. In particular, he has spent many seasons trekking and climbing in Asia and he has pioneered new routes in the Himalaya and Karakoram.

As a photographer, Selters images have won international acclaim and he has authored important books including Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue and the award-winning Ways to the Sky, A Historical Guide to North American Mountaineering. His recent focus has been on the people and geography of Ladakh, the Tibet-like area at the northern tip of India.

Mountains of the Blue Sheep is Andy’s latest presentation from his expedition last year as a member of the first team ever to explore the easternmost Karakoram. The team climbed and named four 6000-meter peaks, discovered unknown passes and found a haven for wildlife and fascinating clues of long-ago humans. After climbing, Andy stayed and befriended the inhabitants of a previously off-limits village that had not hosted a foreigner before, documenting their way of life and their nascent opening to the modern world. Mountains of the Blue Sheep pulls together Andy’s photography, recorded audio, and live narration to tell the story of one of the most impressive, and yet, least known mountain areas of the world.

In 2014, Andy plans to guide a trip back to this area and will introduce this trip to potential participants.

Posted in Events

Assault on El Capitan

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

The Rock Ice & Mountain Club welcomes director Jeff Vargen as he presents the film “Assault on El Capitan”. Assault on El Capitan tells the story of the second ascent of Wings of Steel on Yosemite Valley’s El Capitan. Undoubtedly the most controversial climb in Yosemite history, Wings of Steel was first climbed in 1982 by Richard Jensen and Mark Smith. The team was slowed by death threats, sabotage, and assaults. After 39 days of climbing, they reached the summit. With questions about style, ethics and a general distrust of the first ascent team, Wings of Steel went unrepeated for 29 years.

In 2011, partly as a challenge and partly to investigate the rumors, accusations and claims made over the past three decades, Ammon McKeely and Kait Barber spent 13 days on the wall. The El Cap Pirate took over 500 feet in falls and suffered a dislocated shoulder. They pushed on to the summit and to a climbing community who waited in anticipation of their findings.

Included in the film are Richard Jensen, Mark Smith, Ammon McNeely, Kait Barber, Ron Kauk, Hans Florine, Chris McNamara, Ken Yager, Eric Kohl, Gabe McNeely, Steve Grossman and Peter Haan.

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Charlie Barrett – Mammoth

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Charlie Barrett is a native of Sonoma County, who relocated to the Mammoth area over thirteen years ago. Relocating to Mammoth has allowed Charlie to be centrally located to Tuolumne Meadows, the Bishop region, the High Sierra and all of the wonderful crags and bouldering areas around Mammoth and June Lake. As an Asana sponsored athlete, Charlie has already made his mark with first ascents of many boulder problems and rock climbs in the region.

His foray into guidebook authoring came naturally as one day Charlie and a few friends were bouldering at a new area called Hartley Springs and they all agreed that the area needed a guidebook. After calling some long time locals and asking permission to do the guidebook everyone OK’ed the idea. The guide took about a year of work and came out in September of 2012. We are excited to have Charlie back to the Rock Ice & Mountain Club and he is psyched to show off some pictures of the area and get people stoked on the amazing bouldering and climbing around Mammoth!

Posted in Events

Giovanni Traversi – Paradise

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, August 6, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Giovanni Traversi, a Sonoma County native, has a true passion for travelling the world, climbing boulders and experiencing new things. He has recently developed an interest in filmmaking and has just finished his first film entitled “Paradise”, featuring bouldering on the beautiful Sonoma Coast. The film captures Giovanni’s life as a rock climber and will showcase areas like Salt Point State Park and Cazadero, home to some of the hardest boulder problems in Sonoma County. Some of the boulder problems showcased include the second ascent of Stoney White Boots Johnson (V7r/x) and Fear of the Inevitable (V7r).

Giovanni will give us some teasers of the film and will be showing the premiere of the film at Vertex Climbing Center in Santa Rosa on August 17. He will also show us pictures from his recent travels to world class bouldering areas like Fountainbleu and Switzerland. Giovanni is sponsored by FiveTen, Adidas Outdoor, and Revolution Climbing.

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Todd Offenbacher – Climbing and Skiing are Serious Endeavors

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Todd Offenbacher will grace us with his presence as he lectures on the seriousness of climbing and skiing. Todd, the man behind the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival, has a long and impressive climbing and skiing resume that will put most to shame. Hailing from South Lake Tahoe, it seems like Todd has done it all, from first ascents in the Bugaboo’s, Peru and Pakistan, to big wall solos, to getting as many ski days as he can.

Todd’s presentation will feature the 2011 season of rock climbing with climbing legends Tommy Caldwell and Hayden Kennedy in the Arctic Circle Brooks Range for a first ascent, to skiing in the Antarctic for first descents, and his recent ski trip to Spitsbergen in the Svalbard region of Norway. The presentation will also include highlights from smoking hash with the Taliban of Pakistan, red pointing a 5.7 at Lovers Leap, as well as his try out for the Washington Redskins. Be prepared to take notes and to laugh.

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Mingmar Dorji Sherpa – My Lifetime of Adventure, Challenge and Surprise in the High Mountains of the World

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Mingmar Sherpa is a Nepalese mountaineer, mountain guide and television journalist. He has summited Mount Everest 4 times and was the first person to climb Mt. Naipaigusum in 2006 on the occasion of the 50th year diplomatic relation between Nepal and Japan. Mingmar has worked with the IMAX Everest expedition team where he guided Michael Palin for a BBC documentary and worked with David Breashears on the film “Storm Over Everest” which recounted the dramatic events of the tragic 1996 climbing season. He is also the team leader for “Saving Mount Everest 2011”, which is a Mount Everest cleaning expedition. Mingmar will present dramatic photographs of trekking and mountaineering from the Everest region and present a short video on the 2011 Everest Cleaning campaign.

For anyone wanting to go trekking and mountaineering in Nepal, here is Mingmar’s contact information.

Mega Adventures International
Mingmar D. Sherpa – Managing Director

[email protected]
[email protected]

http://megaadventuresintl.com

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Dean Fleming – The Mother Lode, Living and Climbing in California’s Gold Country

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa

Time & Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)

Dean Fleming started climbing in the small central Sierra town of Sonora, CA at the age of 10. “Growing up in Sonora has provided some pretty strange life events, but also a wealth of adventurous climbing opportunities”. Dean’s first real rock climb was an onsight, ground up first ascent of a 5.6 crack near the summit of Sonora Pass.

Since that time he have been involved in hundreds of first ascents including the recent development of the now-popular bouldering areas in the limestone labyrinths near Columbia Junior College, including authoring the guidebook for the area. Last year Dean launched California Climber Magazine, which highlights the bounty of climbing in California.

Dean’s presentation will highlight the strange experience of living and growing up around the Mother Lode town of Sonora, CA, and also present the great wealth of climbing and adventure that can be found in this region.

Visit his blog at http://deanfleming.wordpress.com