Wikipedia

Draft:Eric Gilbertson (climber)


Eric Gilbertson
Gilbertson on the summit of K2 in 2022
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born1986 (age 37–38)
Berea, Kentucky
WebsiteOfficial website
Climbing career
Known for
  • 143 country highpoints climbed as of November 2024, including being the first to climb the highest point in every North American country and every -Stan country
  • Third American to receive Snow Leopard award
First ascents
  • Alpomish

Eric Gilbertson (born 1986)[1] is an American mountaineer, explorer, peakbagger, and engineer.

Gilbertson and his twin brother Matthew are country highpointers, aiming to reach the summit of the highest mountain in every country in the world.[2]

Life

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Gilbertson was born in Berea, Kentucky.[1] During his youth, Gilbertson and his family often traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[3]

He and his twin brother Matthew attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from which they graduated in 2014 with PhDs in mechanical engineering. Gilbertson currently teaches mechanical engineering at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington.[1][4]

Climbing career

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Gilbertson has climbed the highest point in every U.S. state (finishing in 2012).[5] He is one of five climbers to have climbed the highest point in each Canadian province and territory.[6][7]

In 2017 on Mt. Nirvana, the highest peak of the Northwest Territories, Gilbertson, along with climbers Dave Custer and Susan Ruff, established a new route on the West Face, with a YDS 5.9 crux. Gilbertson had previously climbed the peak unsupported with Len Vanderstar in 2016,[8] and made an attempt on the West Face in 2015 with Custer & Ruff.[9]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gilbertson pursued the Rocky Mountain Grand Slam; that is, the Colorado 14'ers, Wyoming 13'ers, and Montana 12'ers. He completed the list in 60 days, 9 hours, and 20 minutes.[10][11]

Country highpoints

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Gilbertson considers the 193 UN Members, the two UN observers, and Antarctica to be the countries in this project for a total of 196 political entities to highpoint. However, there are only 191 individual mountains given five sets of countries share a highpoint.[12] Gilbertson's first country highpoint was Denali in May 2010.[3]

The Gilbertsons became the first two people to climb the highest point in each of the 23 North American members, finishing in June 2015 on Pico Turquino, Cuba.[1][13]

Gilbertson often climbed low-lying tropical high points during the wintertime, when glaciated highpoints could not be climbed.[14] During the summer, he focused on more demanding country highpoints. In Central Asia, he climbed the highest point in each of the "-Stan" countries, finishing in 2023. He and his climbing partner Andreas Frydensberg became the first people to achieve this feat, also making the first ascent of Alpomish in Uzbekistan which they determined to be higher than the previously accepted highpoint, Khazret Sultan. They also completed the Snow Leopards list, which made Gilbertson the third American to receive a Snow Leopard award.[15]

In summer of 2022, when climbing K2, Pakistan's highest point and the world's second highest mountain, Gilbertson reached the summit without supplemental oxygen or sherpa support. While acclimating, he also ascended Broad Peak.[16]

Gilbertson made an attempt on Mount Everest, the highest peak in China & Nepal, in 2023 without supplemental oxygen, making it to 8,500 metres (27,887 feet) before symptoms of high altitude cerebral edema set in. He safely descended, and then made an ascent of Kanchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third highest peak in the world, with supplemental oxygen.[17]

As of September 2024, Gilbertson has climbed 143 country highpoints,[15] making him among the most successful country highpointers in history according to the website peakbagger.com.[18]

Other climbs, first ascents

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During the winter months, when not on country highpointing expeditions, Gilbertson climbs locally in the Washington state area, with the goal of climbing all of the Washington Bulgers (hundred highest peaks in Washington) in the winter months.[19]

Gilbertson also has made first ascents of at least 25 different mountain peaks, most of which being in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.[20] He also made the first winter ascent of Hard Mox.[21]

Surveys

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Gilbertson also has used survey equipment to determine more precise elevations of various highpoints & peaks.

For country highpoints, he has surveyed:

He also has surveyed many local mountains in Washington, including Mount Rainier and the Washington Bulgers list. He determined that Columbia Crest, previously accepted as Mt. Rainier's highest summit, had melted down by approximately 21 feet (6.4 m) since 1999, which made a point on the mountain's southwest rim the highest elevation on the volcano.[19][25]

For future country highpoints, Gilbertson intends to measure their highest points and determine the exact highpoint, particularly in Colombia and Myanmar.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "North America". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  2. ^ "Climbing Every Country's High Point with Eric and Matthew Gilbertson". francistapon.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  3. ^ a b "Country Highpoints. Bracia jako pierwsi chcą zdobyć najwyższe szczyty górskie w 196 krajach | National Geographic". www.national-geographic.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  4. ^ University, Seattle. "Eric Gilbertson, PhD". Seattle University. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  5. ^ a b Angeles, Keiran Southern, Los (2022-11-02). "Twin peaks: brothers Matthew and Eric Gilbertson rewrite mountain record books". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Episode 104: What Route has 432,500' of elevation gain? Eric Gilbertson is here to tell you. | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  7. ^ "Canada Province/Territory High Points". Peakbagger.com.
  8. ^ "Follow The Climbs - Northwest Territories". Summits Of Canada. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  9. ^ "AAC Publications - Thunder Mountain (Mt. Nirvana), Unsupported Ascent, and Peak 46". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  10. ^ "Eric Gilbertson - Rocky Mountains Slam (CO, WY, MT) - 2020-08-15 | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  11. ^ Milne, Keeley (2023-08-09). "Oregon's Jason Hardrath obliterates Rocky Mountain Grand Slam FKT". Canadian Running Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  12. ^ "Zwillinge wollen höchste Punkte in allen Ländern der Welt erreichen". Süddeutsche.de (in German). 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  13. ^ Ghosh, Souparno. "Alumni have summitted the highest points of every North American country". The Tech. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  14. ^ "Malawi – Saptiwa Peak". Country Highpoints. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  15. ^ a b "The Line: Global Ambition — American Alpine Club". American Alpine Club. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  16. ^ "K2 2022: No O's, Unsupported Summits on Broad Peak and K2 – Interview with Andreas Frydensberg and Eric Gilbertson | The Blog on alanarnette.com". www.alanarnette.com. 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  17. ^ a b "The Line: Global Ambition — American Alpine Club". American Alpine Club. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  18. ^ "Front Runner List - Peakbagger.com". www.peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  19. ^ a b "Beta and Brews: Winter FA of Hard Mox with Eric Gilbertson". The Mountaineers. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  20. ^ "Episode 104: What Route has 432,500' of elevation gain? Eric Gilbertson is here to tell you. | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  21. ^ "AAC Publications - Hard Mox, First Winter Ascent". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  22. ^ "فرواع..أعلى قمة سعودية". arriyadiyah.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  23. ^ "A Tale of Two Peaks - Destination KSA". 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  24. ^ "Newsday - Twin peaks: Brothers' mission to climb every national highpoint - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  25. ^ "Rainier Is Shorter Than We All Thought". Seattle Met. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
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