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

Time & Date: Tuesday, April 3, 2012 @ 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.

Photographer and writer Tom Reed will give a slide presentation showing what’s “behind the scenes” of making his beautiful coffee-table Book, “The Granite Avatars of Patagonia,” (see it at www.tomreed.com ) including maps of his movements between Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy in Argentina’s Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Tom’s images are dramatic and powerful, in black and white, and the Text of the book dwells on the experience of profound awe and why we should feel that while looking at a big rock. Tom’s conclusion is that Nature itself is divine, a conclusion that has profound implications, and leads to a deeper inquiry into why we climb. He will conclude by signing his book for customers, offering 20% discount on the book.

“Patagonia has a keen, close observer in Tom Reed. His feeling for the landscape and its wild power comes through in his photographs and writing and in the questions he raises about ourselves as natural beings acting in a natural world.”
–Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia Inc)

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

Time & Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 @ 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.

Join the Rock Ice and Mountain Club as Kyle Miller presents Freerider, a film by Crest Pictures. Freerider follows Northwest splitboard mountaineer Kyle Miller deep into the Cascades on his “epic hunt for good snow.” It is a short film chronicling Miller’s passion for his sport, his ski bum lifestyle, his love of the mountains, his triumphs and disappointments, his pain and his joys, and his unyielding dedication towards fulfilling his riding dreams. Each season Miller sets a high bar for himself. Last year completed Washington’s 10 highest peaks while the cameras rolled during the filming of FreeRider.

Kyle’s presentation will focus on personal achievements and progression with time and experience, and how anyone who has that passion can do what Kyle is doing. Too look beyond personal tragedy and create their own noteworthy goals from climbing smaller local mountains to seasonal goals. Its all about adventure!

To me there is nothing more rewarding than looking up at a mountain you feared impossible a few days earlier and seeing your perfect tracks running down the entire slope. – Kyle Miller

For more information on FreeRider and Kyle Miller check out crestpictures.com/freerider and whereiskylemiller.com.

photo credit: Jason Hummel

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

Time & Date: Tuesday, Feb 7th, 2012 @ 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.

At the young age of 15, Dean Fidelman began climbing and taking photographs. Dean grew up in southern California and was given a high school photography assignment to take photos of rock climbers at Stoney Point, a bouldering area in the San Fernando Valley. Dean rode his bike the ten miles from his house and saw a shapley girl bouldering. His first thought was, “she’d look good climbing nude”. It would be another 30 years before Dean started his Stone Nudes project.

Dean fell in with a group of young climbers, which included John Long, John Bachar, Yabo and Lynn Hill, the Stone Masters. He began to document this period of climbing in California, the people and the lifestyle. In 2009, The Stonemasters book won the grand prize at the Banff Book Competition and has become an important addition to climbing history.

In the late 90’s, another group of talented climbers arrived in Yosemite Valley. They included Alex and Tomas Huber, Dean Potter, Tommy Caldwell, Steph Davis, Leo Houlding and a host of others. This group, known as the Stone Monkeys, has been Dean’s focus for the last ten years and is included in Stonemasters Press – The Valley Climbers.

Join the Rock Ice & Mountain Club, as Dean presents beautiful photos and shares stories from Stone Masters, Stone Monkeys and Stone Nudes.

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

Time & Date: Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 @ 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.

Patagonia is a land trapped between angry torrents of sea and sky. It is a place that has fascinated explorers and writers for centuries, discouraging all but the most devoted pilgrims. Gregory Crouch is one such pilgrim. With vivid narrative detail and National Geographic caliber photography, Gregory will be telling the tale of the first winter ascent of Cerro Torre’s West Face in Patagonia in 1999 with three Swiss climbers: Thomas Ulrich, Stefan Siegrist and David Fasel.

During this expedition, four peripherally acquainted people were able to overcome hugely different individual motivations and an immense language barrier and coalesce into a unified team. After several difficult weeks and one nearly-crushing failure, they found success and survival in the face of some of the most outrageous natural obstacles on earth.

Gregory Crouch is an author from the San Francisco Bay Area who specializes in adventurous and historic subjects. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he studied military history. He completed U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger Schools, and led his infantry platoon in combat in Panama, where he earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Crouch left the Army in the post-Gulf War downsizing in order to pursue his passions for rock, ice and alpine climbing, with a particular fascination with the majestic peaks of Patagonia.

His work has appeared in National Geographic (“Stone Cold Ascent,” March of 2000, and “The Caves of Oman,” April of 2003), National Geographic Adventure, American History, Outside, Climbing (where he has been a senior contributing editor) and many others. Crouch’s book, Enduring Patagonia (Random House, 2001) was selected for the Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” program, and his upcoming China’s Wings: War, Intrigue, Romance, and Adventure in the Middle Kingdom During the Golden Age of Flight will be published by Bantam in March 2012.

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

Time & Date: Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 @ 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.

Join the Rock Ice & Mountian Club for a special presentation by the one and only Fred Beckey. Fred’s latest book “Beckey’s 100 Favorite North American Climbs” will hit the bookshelves any day now. Come see Fred share his climbing and travelling tales along with new and old photos from his favorite climbs in North America. Fred is by far the most prolific climber and first ascentionist in North American history. Fred lives in Seattle, Washington but still hits the road to climb, explore and make new friends and see old ones. Although Fred isn’t a spring chicken, he is still getting after it and should be an inspiration to us all.

Photos by Corey Rich.

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

Time & Date: Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 @ 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.

Join the R.I.M. Club for a special presentation by accomplished solo big wall first ascentionist Mike Libecki. At our November meeting Mike will show a series of short films from his big wall expeditions to Greenland, Antarctica, China, Venezuela, Yemen and more. His sponsors (Black Diamond, Mountain Hardwear, MSR, Lowe Pro, and others) have donated a stack of killer gear for a raffle you shouldn’t miss!
Our social hour starts at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7:30. Bring a friend!

Mike will be showing a series of short films from his big wall explorations, some solo, some with partners. Destinations may include Antarctica, Greenland, Yemen, China, Venezuela and more.

mikelibecki.com

Mike was born near the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California where he grew up hunting, fishing, and camping with his family, as well as excelling in speed mathematics from grammar school through high school. His childhood life planted the seed for his obsession with an utterly adventurous lifestyle that has taken him to all of the continents several times. He is constantly making it very clear that: Death and/or old age is coming… we must live sweet. After all, it is not only life, but the quality of this life.

Now in his adult life, Mike spends most of his time as a father to his angel-daughter Lilliana, and traveling to the most remote, exotic and untouched locations on the planet to pursue his passion of big wall and alpine first ascents, traverses, and other offbeat adventures, many of them completely alone. Libecki has been on expeditions and established multiple first ascents in such areas as Africa, Baffin Island, Greenland, China, Madagascar, Kyrgysztan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Venezuela, Yemen, and Antarctica. He made the first west-east traverse across the Taklamakan Desert in Western China, also known as the “Sea of Death” by the local people.

He’s spent months at a time Soloing first ascents in Greenland, Baffin Island, Antarctica, Africa, Papua New Guinea and China. He and a partner spent 8o days completing a major ski and big wall climbing expedition in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. He is currently reconnoitering such virgin lands such as Franz Josef Land, Russia, restricted Africa, Afghanistan and remote islands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans , some other areas are top secret at the moment due to government regulations.

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa
Time & Date: Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 @ 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.

Ben Hatchett is a homegrown Californian who has been a disciple of the mountain lifestyle for 16 years. Ben relocated to Nevada to complete his Ph.D in atmospheric science from the University of Nevada, Reno. Ben’s goal in life is to never stop having fun, to experience the best of the Sierra alpine environs in all seasons and to travel to mountain ranges that test his limits.

Ben will be showing photos from a variety of his mountain activities, mostly in California, but also Europe and Alaska, and will share insight about forecasting techniques and mountain weather phenomena that can be readily used to enhance your own backcountry adventures. Check out his website at www.powdiction.com for sierra weather updates and skiing, snowboarding and climbing outings.

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa
Time & Date: Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 @ 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.

Alex Biale and Drew LaPlante will present their 3 month rock climbing trip, spreading their love of climbing and love of life! Crossing through many popular areas, photos and stories of climbing and love and life through Tahoe, Smith Rock, Portland, Leavenworth, Seattle, Squamish, City of Rocks, Joe’s Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park, Boulder, Mt. Evans, and Malibu Creek will be shared. The journey of many miles was that of an unforgettable adventure of meeting new people, sharing in life-changing experiences, exploring the beauties of nature, cities, and the endless amount of climbing!

Location: Round Table Pizza, 2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa
Time & Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 @ 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.

Steve Curtis will present his recent 11 day trip to Elbstandstein, Germany. Elbstandstein hosts over 14,000 climbing routes on over 1,100 rock pinnacles and is where the Saxon rules for rock climbing, considered to be one of the origins of free climbing, were established at the beginning of the 20th century. Steve says “For me, the climbing was extremely rewarding. I did things in reverse, figuring that climbing above slings with knots was just soloing”. Join Steve as he shows amazing photos and tells great stories about this unforgettable climbing and cultural experience.

Steve Curtis was born and raised in Petaluma, California and after a long time abroad, including 6 years in Germany, he has returned to the area and has not let up on his life long passion for climbing. Curtis is a retired air force prosthodontist with 27 years of service, board certified in 1994 and elected to the American Board of Prosthodontists in 2007. Steve’s notable climbs include the Nose in 16 hours, the Half Dome Regular route in 7 hours, plus long hard speed rope solos in Europe.