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LONGMONT, Colo. – You might say that Jon Kedrowski, PhD., has an affinity for mountains. He has summited all 55 of Colorado’s Fourteeners, 20 Cascade volcanoes, including Mount Rainier, and, of course, Mount Everest. But Dr. Kedrowski doesn’t just climb mountains; he skis them, too. His latest book, Classic Colorado Ski Descents, recounts Dr. Kedrowski’s achievement as the first person – according to the Denver Post – to climb and ski each of Colorado’s 14,000’ peaks in one winter and spring ski season. In his upcoming return to the Longmont Public Library on Wednesday, December 13, from 7 to 8 pm, he’ll share those experiences, stories, and lessons learned with Longmont readers.
Dr. Kedrowski’s new guidebook, Classic Colorado Ski Descents, showcases 70 ski options on Fourteeners and Thirteeners, as well as easily accessible mountain passes and locales, with routes that range from peaks with gentle terrain, to tree glades, endless powder, ridgelines, steep faces, and couloirs. In addition to discussing preparation, gear selection, planning and weather/snowpack for skiing in the backcountry, Dr. Kedrowski will summarize the best of the 300 different ski routes and ski descents showcased in his book. Each peak description includes skiable vertical, elevation gain, and roundtrip mileage, as well as easy-to-follow directions to the trailhead.
Born and raised in Vail, Dr. Kedrowski cut his teeth early on some big mountains, which prepared him for some of the more extreme outcomes of his adventures. In 2012, Dr. Kedrowski summited Mount Everest on May 26, just six days after one of the deadliest days in Everest history, when four climbers died near the summit. Dr. Kedrowski’s summit was featured on the DatelineNBC documentary, “Into the Death Zone,” which won a 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award. Later, in April 2015, he was at the Everest basecamp again when the Nepal earthquake struck, causing avalanches on the mountain and injuring nearly 100 people. Dr. Kedrowski was not injured and was able to help with recovery efforts as well as gather data for the USGS about the earthquake.
Join Dr. Kedrowski at the Library as he shares stories from his adventures skiing Colorado's classic backcountry terrain and some of his favorites from his new guidebook published by the Colorado Mountain Club Press/Mountaineers Books. The goal is to send each aspiring ski mountaineer in the audience home with new backcountry skiing objectives and stoke for a new season approaching!
Registration is required for this program and can be accomplished online at http://bit.ly/LibPrograms. No email address or internet service? Call (303) 651-8472 to register by phone.
This is a press release by the Longmont Public Library and is published by the Longmont Observer as a public service.
