Expedition Denali Tag

Adventure Activism, An American Ascent, Breaking News, Expedition Denali, The Adventure Gap / 29.06.2015

Way back when we first started planning the Expedition Denali project I had one secret goal. And during one of the most remarkable weeks in recent history that objective was finally realized. In a private screening before almost 200 high school students and representatives from several youth-focused nonprofit organizations our film An American Ascent was presented at the White House. Expedition Denali team members Rosemary Saal, Tyrhee Moore and Billy Long made the long journey to Washington D.C. along with my co-producer Andy Adkins. Although I had never mentioned...

Adventure Activism, Commentary, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Expedition Denali / 16.07.2014

Several weeks ago I made the middling drive from Madison to Chicago. On a round Joy Trip of about 300 miles I journeyed south to meet up with two old friends to hear their story of adventure. Robby ReChord and Scott Briscoe were in town to present a slide show at the downtown Patagonia store on their ascent of the highest peak in North America, Mount McKinley also called Denali. As part of a team of African-American climbers Robby and Scott aimed to share their experiences in the...

Adventure Media Review, Climbing, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Justice, Expedition Denali / 04.06.2014

Just about anyone who writes for a living will be compelled eventually to write a book. Personally, I tried to put it off as long as possible. I simply didn’t have anything truly relevant to say or share on the scale of a 50,000-word manuscript. As it happens though that all changed in the fall of 2011 when I was invited by the National Outdoor Leadership School to take part in the first African-American team ascent of Denali, the highest peak in North America. Although I was not on...

Adventure Activism, Climbing, Diversity, Expedition Denali, Life Out Loud, National Parks / 24.02.2014

[caption id="attachment_458571" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo by Hudson Henry[/caption] On June 24,2013 Adina Scott made a satellite phone dispatch from 17,200 feet on Mount McKinley in Denali National Park. As part of the climbing team Expedition Denali, she and the 18 others had already spent a total of 16 days on the mountain and nearly a week camped at 14,200 feet. Now, they were making a valiant push toward the top. Speaking under clear skies, she was suddenly within striking distance of the highest peak in North America, a mountain...

Adventure Activism, Expedition Denali, Expedition News, Life Out Loud / 29.06.2013

Even as the Expedition Denali team made their way off the mountain their enduring legacy of excellence took its first steps. On June 28 at the University of Alaska Anchorage several youth groups gathered for a solidarity hike to celebrate the distance the climbers aimed to travel from their High Camp at 17,200 feet to the 20,328-foot summit, a distance of about 5 miles. Get Outdoors Alaska, a grassroots advocacy organization for environmental protection, was just one of many supporters across the country who put together similar events...

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Diversity, Expedition Denali, Expedition News, Life Out Loud / 28.06.2013

After 19 days of climbing over ice and snow to the highest peak in North America the journey is small consolation when all you ever wanted was the destination. Clichés be damned. When your ambitions go unfilled it’s hard not to indulge in petulance like a child, kicking and screaming on the floor in the fit of a full blown tantrum. But in the latest dispatch from the mountain Erica Wynn delivered the unfortunate news of the team's aborted summit bid with the calm resolve of a champion. "We're...