Professional alpinists Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards return to Mount Everest, using Strava to share the athletic story of their attempt to summit without supplemental oxygen
SAN FRANCISCO – March 29, 2017 – In 2016, six-time Everest summiter Adrian Ballinger and award-winning photojournalist Cory Richards told the story of their attempt to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen on Strava, the social network for athletes. Cory made it to the summit but Adrian became dangerously hypothermic and had to retreat. In 2017, theyre going back. Their mission: help Adrian attain his goal of summiting without supplemental oxygen. As the friends and teammates push for the top, they will share the next chapter of their adventure and friendship on Strava.
Learn more and follow the journey at www.strava.com/everestnofilter.
Mount Everest has been the backdrop for some of the most dramatic stories ever told about athletes. Adrian and Cory used Strava to tell the story of climbing Everest through data. In 2017, theyre going even deeper with that approach, said Andrew Vontz, Communications Lead at Strava.
Using Strava, athletes can follow Adrian and Cory every step of the climb. Through their activities on Strava, you can understand how their bodies are responding to the elevation and segments via data such as heart rate and pace. It provides context that shows the daily effort that truly goes into climbing Mount Everest.
Athletes can follow the entire expedition on Strava: Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards; Snapchat: EverestNoFilter; and Instagram: @adrianballinger and @coryrichards; or search hashtag #EverestNoFilter on social media.
Last year, Strava was one of three social platforms to document the first Mount Everest expedition shared live on social media, allowing outdoor enthusiasts to stay updated on their journey via Ballingers Strava feed. While Richards made his first successful summit without supplemental oxygen in 2016, Ballinger was forced to turn back just 250 meters from the summit.
Ballinger, an experienced climber and guide, has summited Everest six times, but this will be his second attempt without supplemental oxygen. Richards is an accomplished mountaineer and National Geographic photographer. He has climbed Lhotse and Pakistans Gasherbrum II without oxygen, and this will be his third Everest attempt without supplemental oxygen.
About Strava
Strava unlocks potential through the power and purpose of sport. Designed by athletes, for athletes, Stravas mobile apps and website connect millions of runners and cyclists every day. For more information visit www.strava.com.
About Adrian Ballinger
Adrian Ballinger is one of the USAs premier high-altitude ski mountaineers and mountain guides, and the only American guide to have both AMGA/IFMGA guide certification (one of 75 in the USA) and more than 10 summits of 8,000 meter peaks (12 total, including 6 summits of Mt. Everest). As founder and head guide of Alpenglow Expeditions, Adrian has been guiding full-time for twenty years and has led over 100 international climbing expeditions on 6 continents. His personal ski descents include the first descent of Manaslu (8th tallest peak in the world), and Cho Oyu (6th tallest peak in the world), making him the only American to have successfully skied two 8000-meter peaks.
About Cory Richards
Cory Richards is an esteemed alpine athlete as well as a National Geographic Photographer Fellow and filmmaker whose expeditions to the greater ranges of the world has made a leader in adventure and expedition photography. His film work has won awards at nearly every major adventure film festival including the grand prize at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. In 2011, he was awarded the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award for his efforts as both a climber and visual storyteller. Hes the first and only American to summit an 8000m peak in winter and this is his third attempt to climb Everest without oxygen. He joined the Eddie Bauer Guide Team as an alpine climbing athlete in October 2015.