Matt Dowell
Winter is on its way and now is the time to slow down and see a movie! Join the Everett Climbing Committee at the Seattle Program Center on December 3 as we watch Journey to Infinity: Pico de Orizaba with one of the film's stars, Jason Hardrath. Tacoma Branch Climb Leader and North Face Athlete Development Team member Kimber Cross will lead a Q&A with Jason after the film. The event is open to anybody who would like to come. Stop in, see the film, enjoy refreshments, and get inspired!
Event Details
Date: Sunday, Dec 3
Time: 6-9:30pm
Location: Seattle Program Center (7700 Sand Point Way NE)
Tickets: $15 - Mountaineers Members, $20 - General Admission
The film, directed and produced by Kevin Eassa, tells the story of Jason and his climbing partner Nathan Longhurst’s attempt at establishing the Infinity Loop on Pico de Orizaba, the tallest volcano in North America. Finishing the loop would require them to summit the 18,491ft mountain two times and to circumnavigate it, all in a single push. (What?!).
The film dives into Jason’s encounter with HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema), the stresses that high altitude mountaineering can put on a partnership, and the difficult decisions that athletes must make in the mountains.
Our Q&A facilitator Kimber Cross is an adaptive climber who uses a custom prosthetic ice tool to climb waterfall ice around the country as well as alpine ice routes here in her home state of Washington. Kimber was born with one hand — she has adapted and modified to excel in sports as a kid and now climbing as an adult. She was the first disabled climber to use a prosthetic ice tool on the Kautz Route on Mt. Rainier/Tahoma, is a member of The North Face Athlete Development Team, and volunteers as a Climb Leader for The Mountaineers. When she isn’t in the backcountry climbing or skiing, Kimber is a National Board-Certified educator, teaching Kindergarten.
Jason and Kimber's post-film Q&A will draw on their combined experience as adventurers and educators - speaking to the value each of us can find and teach through our shared love for the outdoors. Prepare to find inspiration for not only your own adventures but the importance and impact your engagement can have on others.
The event proceeds will benefit the bike skills track that Jason is helping build for the kids he teaches, the Tacoma Mountaineers youth program Kimber works with, and the Everett Mountaineers Climbing Committee. We hope to see you there!
