Chris Warner, the expedition leader, has been on more than 160 international mountaineering expeditions, including 13 trips on 8000-meter peaks. He has guided the North Ridge of Everest three times, soloed the South Face of Shisha Pangma, summited K2, Lhotse and Cho Oyu and has made strong and bold attempts on Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak. Chris has also pioneered new, technical routes on Shivling and Ama Dablam (in winter). Chris is the owner of Earth Treks, Inc, which operates three of the largest and best-known climbing gyms in the US, an international mountaineering guide service, and a rock and ice climbing school. Every year, Chris and his team guide Wharton MBA students on leadership development expeditions to the Andes and Kilimanjaro. Recognized as an educator, entrepreneur and mountaineer, Chris is also a published author and photographer. Chris and Don Schmincke's new book, High Altitude Leadership , was a Top 25 New Release on Amazon. His mountaineering film footage has appeared on numerous networks including the Travel Channel and National Geographic. Chris lead the 2007 Shared Summits K2 Expedition, which was the subject of an Emmy Nominated NBC Documentary. Each year Chris gives motivational talks to corporate groups, most often focusing on leadership issues. Chris has appeared on dozens of news programs and TV programs, including as host of a History Channel show and as the Everest guide on the Global Extremes series (OLN and ABC). Chris lives in Annapolis, MD, with his wife Melinda and daughter Wendy. More... 

Marty Schmidt has spent years guiding Everest and Cho Oyu (4 summits), Mount Vinson, Mount Cook (13 X) Aconcagua (30 X) and Denali (25X) (Marty Schmidt International Guiding). He held speed ascent records on both Cho Oyu (he then skied from the summit) and Aconcagua. He has also summited Kangchenjunga (the world’s third tallest peak) and has been above 8000 meters on the North and South sides of K2. Marty learned to climb in Yosemite, regularly climbing El Cap. He left the Valley to become an elite member of the Air Force “PJ’s” (they are the only members of the military specifically organized, trained and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations in hostile or denied areas as a primary mission.) Marty lives in Christchurch NZ with his wife Giannina. His children, Denali and Sequoia, attend college in the United States.

 Giannina Cantale has been keen for the outdoors since childhood. Being raised in Holland and heading off to the mountains of the European Alps each year gave her a good sense to never loose this connections to the hills. Interested mainly in trekking these days, she loves to venture into the Himalaya base camps, while also touching the summits of Shasta, Kilimanjaro and peaks of the Southern Alps of New Zealand. She is looking forward to another adventure with this trek into Makalu base camp. She has been studying Ayurveda cooking and medicine, wanting to work this way into future expeditions.  

Ashley Gateless, Base Camp Manager, was born on top of a mountain in central West Virginia completely "off the grid." She willingly trades in the street lights and air conditioning for a headlamp, camera, and a minus 20 sleeping bag. She earned a degree in communications from Muskingum College and has since worked as an editor and production assistant for the Discovery Channel, TLC, the Golf Channel and National Geographic. Combining her skills, she served as Base Camp Manager for the 2008 Shared Summits Nanga Parbat Expedition. Ashley is the Assistant Director of the Earth Treks’ Climbing Center in Rockville, MD. Besides climbing, she is an endurance runner, preferring trail running to the road, but still collecting impressive marathon times

  Theo Linder, Production Assistant, is a gifted rock climber and film maker. His love of climbing stretches from route setting and competition climbing, to swinging ice tools and leaping crevasses. He is currently enrolled in Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville, where he studies film. In the last two years he has gone to Ecuador to climb Cotopaxi and Cayambe, and Washington State to attempt Mt. Rainier. On this expedition he will be involved in the filming, sound engineering, video editing and carrying huge packs to ABC.