RENO ALPINE CLUB

Emma began climbing just over a decade ago, after an introduction on the red sandstone cliffs in the forests of the Shwarzwäld, DE. After returning to the states, she was invited for her first tie-in on the Yosemite classic, Snake Dike. After a midnight summit of Half Dome and a delirious 5 am descent, she was hooked. Following college graduation with a degree in geology, Emma moved to New Zealand for a 3-year graduate program at Otago University (OU). There she was introduced to alpinism, including mountaineering, backcountry skiing, ice and mixed climbing by friends on the NZ Alpine Team. She joined the OU Tramping Club and the New Zealand Alpine Club, including two years as NZAC Otago Chapter Secretary. Since then she has climbed throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Australia and America. After attending a PhD program in Germany and a few years dirtbagging in Europe, she has taken up residence in Reno to pursue High Sierra climbing and employment as an exploration geologist.

Hello, my name is Adam Harris. I've been in Reno since I was 7 years old, so I consider myself an honorary native. I first fell in love with the Sierras exploring our local mountains as a hiker and a backpacker. Now I'm a multi-disciplinary mountain athlete (or at least I aspire to the title) and I love all things alpinism-related. I began my mountaineering journey with no training and having no idea what I was doing on everyone's favorite mountaineering 101 route, Mt. Shasta's Avalanche Gulch. With very little training, I somehow mad a successful car-to car summit, and started craving that challenge and dreaming of bigger, longer ascents. So I began training for traditional expedition-style mountaineering. After gaining some knowledge and experience on additional snow-covered summits, I eventually found myself on a 7,000 meter mountain, Baruntse, in the Himalayas. But as I got more comfortable climbing ice and rock, my focus shifted to lighter, quicker, and more technical alpine-style ascents, culminating this year in climbing beautiful Alpamayo in Peru. Of course, my goals and interests in alpinism continue to shift as I evolve as a climber. The personal and exploratory nature of that journey is what I truly value about alpinism and all of its varied disciplines.