Expedition Sifl Denali: Team

It's been over two years since our summit of Aconcagua, and the time away from the high hills has Jason and myself itching for another adventure. This time we're looking to play in the snow and get lil colder. We've managed to convince Jason's better half (Niki) and their friend Ben Baumann to tag along. Niki and Jay bring lots of experience from their time spent in the Sierras. Ben brings along the invaluable situational experience of having been on Denali once before. He has also spent time in the Himalayas on Island Peak, so he's we're all stoked he's on the team.

The expedition name was inspired by MTV's cult classic, Sifl and Olly. We've spent many a night in the mountains reenacting our favorite episodes as a means of maintaining our sanity, and we thought this was a perfect way to pay tribute. So join Expedition Sifl Denali as we attempt to reach the summit of North America.

Chris Pagoda

Age: 35
Hometown: Conshohocken, PA
Personal: Mountains are nice and good and fun and good...ohhh and nice. Since I've got some close friends that are willing and able to tackle Denali, I'm hopping on the opportunity. I've played in the mountains a couple times: Colorado Mountain School Denali prep, Pagoda Mountain, Mount Washington, Aconcagua (Polish Glacier), Attempt on Rainier, and Mount Muir. Two wheels can be mighty fun too. Cycling has always been a passion and I recently got a taste of what adventure motorcycling has to offer (Roads to Rockies).

I think the common denominator for all of these trips is taking the daily routines we've grown so accustomed to...and throwing it out the window. The planning, preparation, training, and eventual journey (whatever the outcome) are pretty dang rewarding.

Cheers!

Jason Brooks

Age: 32
Hometown: Topanga, CA
Bio: Adventurer, ultrarunner, pilot, scuba diver, mountaineer, and marketing science guy
Experience:
Mountain: Aconcagua (Western Hemisphere high point, Polish Direct, Argentina), Pyramid Blanca (Cordillera Real of the Bolivian Andes), Tajumulco (Central America high point, Guatemala), Fuji (Japan), Rainier (Disappointment Cleaver, Washington State), Washington (Huntington Ravine, New Hampshire) assorted Sierra Nevada (Whitney, Shasta, Muir, Middle Palisade, Langley, Tyndall, Sill, Irving), assorted desert, SoCal, and foreign peaks (Baldy x12, Badwater-Telescope mega ascent, Iron-Baldy traverse, Gorgonio, Jacinto, Tikaboo in Nevada), rock/ice climbing around SoCal and Sierra.

Other endurance: Gobi Challenge 2010 winner (6-day, 140-mile, self-sufficient race across Mongolia's Gobi Desert in July), North Face Endurance 50-miler, Noble Canyon 50k, 80 miles completed in the Javelina Jundred, walked around a track for 24 hours straight completing 66 miles, completed marathons in Los Angeles, Las Vegas (x2), Phoenix, and Philadelphia (last one as part of famed ultrarunner Dean Karnazes' Endurance 50 challenge), Death Valley Century, regular trail runner in my home Santa Monica/Malibu/Topanga Mountains.

There are many ways to describe the love of mountains. One way is through the opportunity and connection they ever present. Opportunity to explore one's own purpose and fire. Connection to things deep and beyond... There is a thread that runs through the people who've lived ages past and ages fore. A quiet thread that is, for many, rarely tugged- as we live, mostly, swaddled in comfort, distraction, and synthetic responsibilities- while a low hum reverberates through our squishy, delicate, and temporary cells. It is the sound of survival and movement, of lifting, if only momentarily, above the cold hardened ground. We feel it sometimes, fleeting, in moments of love, beauty, loss, fear, and reflection- and then forget as it slinks back into pleasantry and routine. But Mountains pull back society's soft rug, exposing that little thread, hauntingly compelling the brave or curious to touch. And they are a great sustaining chamber, where only wind, breath, and one's heartbeat compete shyly for the attention with that sound. I prepare and look forward to placing my ear on the mountain once again, not knowing in which direction the thread will move me.

Ben Baumann

Age: 33
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Bio: General cloud chasing. Plus long walks on short piers, running with scissors, and staring directly into the sun.
Experience: 170+ peak ascents, Sierra Nevada (30+), Cascade Volcanoes, various climbs in Nepal, Ecuador, Argentina, Japan, Mexico, and Tanzania. Desert peak assasin.

Niki Y

town: Topanga, amazing California
Bio: I like being outside. I like running far. I like wine.
Cold/Snow Experience: Mt Whitney winter ascent, Mt Rainier, Pyramid Blanca, Bolivia, Mt Shasta