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Four Everest Teams in 2019 for Alpenglow Expeditions

This year on Everest is unique for Alpenglow Expeditions and we’re leading four different teams up the tallest mountain in the world. Each team has a different goal, and ultimately a different style in their approach. For clarity moving forward we’ve named these team as follows:

Alpenglow’s Sherpa Team and a few of our guides prior to the puja ceremony at Advanced Base Camp.
The Rapid Ascent team on their way to base camp

Rapid Ascent Team
The Rapid Ascent team consists of 5 members, Caroline, Rob, Jim, Christina, and Kara. These strong climbers are considered our main team and will be guided by Carla Perez (first South American woman to summit without supplemental oxygen) and Chad Peele. By the way, how cool is it that the majority of this team is female!?

The Rapid Ascent team arrived into base camp on April 23 happy, healthy and energetic. These climbers pre-acclimatized using hypoxico tents at home for 8 weeks in order to be able to arrive a bit later than other traditional teams. Pre-acclimatizing allows them to drive directly to base camp and get to work right away.

Lighting Ascent Team
The Lightning Ascent team consists of a single climber, Roxanne, who will climb in a 1:1 ratio with our guide Lydia Bradey, the first woman to summit without oxygen. Another strong and dynamic female team for Alpenglow in 2019!

Roxanne will be arriving much later in the season, waiting for a good weather window and leaving home at the last possible moment in order to capitalize on the weather window. Her objective is to climb Everest in 14 days door to door from the United States. You go girl!

New Route Team
If you followed along with #EverestNoFilter in 2016 and 2017, then you already know Cory Richards. If not, you may have seen his stunning and award winning photography in National Geographic magazine. After summiting without oxygen in 2016, Cory wasn’t done with Everest.

Topo and Cory studying

He and all-star climber Topo Mena (also an Alpenglow guide, but not on this trip!) dreamed up a new route on Everest and will be attempting to put up a brand new route! While this team isn’t a guided team (Topo is a partner of Cory’s and they’ll be working together to put up the new route), they’ll be supported by Alpenglow’s mountain logistics and incredible Sherpa team.

Alpenglow Team
Adrian Ballinger is leading a team that arrived last week and is currently at advanced base camp. This team arrived a bit earlier than everyone else but will be utilizing the same logistics and leadership from Alpenglow Expeditions.

Stay tuned as we update throughout the season with each team’s progress up the mountain. We wish them the best of luck, and we’re rooting for each and every one of them.