Mtnmeister

Adrian Ballinger is the founder of Alpenglow Expeditions, a guiding service dedicated to getting clients to the summit…fast. While a typical Everest expedition takes 2.5 months, Alpenglow averages around one month. Alpenglow has guided over 100 clients to the summit of Everest and other mountains around the world. Adrian has both AMGA/IFMGA certifications, has summited Everest six times, and skied two 8,000 meter peaks.

  Ronnie Dickson is a prosthetist by day and a professional boulderer by night. In 2005 at the age of 17, Ronnie lost his leg above the knee because of a congenital disorder called Trevor’s disease. After his amputation, he found the sport of climbing and never looked back. Since then Ronnie has been at the forefront of the disabled climbing movement in competitions around the world, and he is aspiring to be the first above the knee amputee to boulder the V10 difficulty grade.

  Steve Casimiro spent 11 years at Powder Magazine, most of those as editor; launched Bike Magazine as founding editor; and contributed to National Geographic Adventure for 11 years, most of those as West Coast Editor. He is the founder of the ever so popular Adventure Journal where he writes essays, posts other interesting pieces of writing, talks about gear, posts videos, and just about everything else you’ll need, except for a podcast.

What does it take to be a MTNmeister? Erik is a professional photographer and whitewater kayaker that has been featured in numerous adventure films. In 2011, he and his adventure partner Jon Turk became the first to ever circumnavigate Canada’s Ellesmere Island – a 1500 mile journey that took 104 days. Erik was selected as one of the 2012 National Geographic Adventurers of the year.

Rachael is a professional big mountain skier based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. She has been featured in films for Teton Gravity Research and has spent time in the competition circuit, winning the Red Bull Cold Rush in 2012. In 2013, she started FemaleWolfPack, a website serves as a platform for inspiration and a way for female athletes to get eyes on their videos. Rachel’s story has been featured in ESPN, Powder Magazine, and other publications.

Darcy Piceu is one of the best female ultrarunners in the world. She has placed first three times in a row at the Hardrock 100: a 100 mile race through the Colorado San Juan mountains. It covers the vertical climb of more than the elevation of Mount Everest - Over 33k feet. In addition to competing, Darcy coaches other runners and is a mother.

Melissa Stockwell is an American paratriathlete and former Paralympic swimmer and U.S. Army officer. A first lieutenant, she was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War. She lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. For her service in Iraq she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. She works as a prosthetist and is the co-founder of Dare2Tri, a Chicago-based paratriathlon club.

  Burnd Heinrich is a professor, author, and long-distance runner. Burnd has made major contributions to the study of insect physiology and behavior, and has written 18 books, the majority of which examine the physiological and behavioral adaptations of animals to their physical environment. Some of his other writings pertain more to Burnd’s running career, including Why We Run, which was formally known as Racing the Antelope. Burnd has set numerous records in American ultra-running including a 24 hour run where he covered 156 miles and a 100 mile run that he covered in 12 hours and 27 minutes. 

Melissa has made her life about exploring the beautiful mountains of the world. Melissa has summited Mt. Rainer over 100 times and she has summited Mt. Everest not once, not twice, not three or four times but 5 times – the most out of any non-sherpa female in this universe. She is passionate about climbing and pushing her own limits, but her ultimate joy comes from taking that journey with others, helping them push their limits and get to their own summit.

Tim Medvetz is the founder of The Heroes Project, a non-profit organization that works with veterans, soldiers, marines, and military families and communities on all levels. They have taken disabled veterans to the tops of mountains all over the world, they are currently in the process of training an injured marine who lost his leg in Afghanistan, Charlie Linville, to the top of Mt Everest. Tim also has an amazing story of his own. An ex-Hell's Angel, Tim was in a serious motorcycle accident where he broke countless bones and nearly had his foot amputated. If that wasn't enough, he awoke from his accident on September 11th, 2001. A year after his accident, he set out to climb Mount Everest.

Jennifer Steinman is a Film Director, Producer and Editor with over 18 years of experience in television and filmmaking. Her work has aired nationally on ABC, PBS, Discovery, Nat Geo, and a bunch of different festivals like SXSW and Sundance. Jennifer’s most recent documentary film project, DESERT RUNNERS was selected "Best of the Fest" at the 2013 Edinburgh Film Festival. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at both the Vancouver International and The Hamptons International Film Festivals, and was named by the Huffington Post as one of "The Top 10 Documentaries of 2013."

Ultramarathonman Dean Karnazes has accomplished some of the most daunting feats in long-distance running. These include but are definitely not limited to: 50 marathons in 50 different states over 50 days, 350 continuous miles without sleeping for three nights. Ultramarathons in Death Valley at temperatures up to 130 degrees and a marathon in the South pole in negative 40 degrees. Dean was named as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. He’s been featured on 60 minutes, Howard Stern, ESPN, and, quite possibly his most prized media appearance, MTNmeister podcast.  

Jamie Greubel and Steve Langton are both American bobsledders who earned bronze medals in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Jamie competed in two-women bobsled and Steve in two-man and four-man. After successful track careers in college, both Jamie and Steve transitioned to bobsled full time. 

Ted McDonald, most often referred to as Barefoot Ted, received this nickname when he began running barefoot and eventually achieved a Barefoot marathon. Barefoot Ted has also run a bunch of ultra-marathons, including the Leadville 100 which is one of the most miserable things that any human can decide to do to him or herself. Ted is the founder of Luna sandals, which double as both minimalist running sandals and also everyday footwear.

Trevor has hiked some of the most legendary and difficult treks in the US including an unassisted, solo, end-to-end, thru hike of the Appalachian Trail (2,175 miles in 2008). In 2009, he completed the 2,654 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Trevor is blind. In 2005, Trevor became blind in only a few months' time. After a period of mourning, he set out to regain the skills he needed to function in society, and much, much more.

Majka Burhardt has a passion for creating unusual connections. As an author, professional climber, filmmaker, and entrepreneur, Majka has spent two decades exploring the globe—usually by hand and foot—and her stories of challenge, humanity, and the fine line between extreme and acceptable risk continue to inspire audiences around the world. As a keynote speaker and writer Majka champions “Additive Adventure” — when adventure goes beyond exploration to cultural and environmental connections that create a larger conversation of singular and collective human meaning. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and she’s had articles in Men’s Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, and numerous other publications. 

Megan McJames grew up in Park City, UT doing many outdoor sports: soccer, tennis, mountain biking, hiking, but most notably, ski racing. Megan has had over 50 world cup starts and  won numerous NorAm championships, After many years on the US Ski Team, Megan failed to meet the criteria to make the team again. After putting together a team of her own, paying her own expenses, and finding her own training, Megan made the US Olympic team and finished in the top 30 at Sochi. Megan has secured world cup spots for the future, and will continue as an independent ski racer.

Brendan Leonard is the creator of Semi-Rad.com and a contributing editor at Climbing Magazine, The Adventure Journal, and other outdoors publications. In August of 2011, after a break-up and economic downturn, Brendan hit the road in the search for answers. He lived out of a van and worked out of coffee shops all around the country three years and now lives in Denver, CO. His book, The New American Road-trip MixTape, is about this journey. 

Dr. Jon Kedrowski is an author, speaker, ski-mountaineer and geographer. In 2011, Jon became the first person to camp and spend the night on the top Colorado’s 55 Official 14ers: peaks over 14,000′. He achieved the feat from June 23 to September 28 2011, a stretch of only 95 days from start to finish. In May 2012, Kedrowski successfully climbed Mount Everest while witnessing and surviving the one of the worst tragedies on Everest, where seven deaths occurred that night. More recently Jon just completed a project skied the 20 highest cascade volcanoes and slept on the ones where weather permitted.

What does it take to be a MTNmeister? Eric Larsen is a polar explorer, expedition guide, dog musher, and educator. The list of Eric’s accomplishments in exploration is extensive. In 2006, he and his partner Lonnie Dupre completed the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole where they paddled modified canoes through 550 miles of the ocean and ice. In 2009, he completed a 750-mile ski traverse to the south pole. Eric was the first person in history to reach the world’s three poles (the third being Everest) within a 365-day period.