Tonya Riggs
Image Courtesy of Tonya Riggs
Tonya Riggs
I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was a city girl for most of my life. I went on my first camping trip when I was in my mid-30s and discovered rock climbing about ten years ago. I am now 45 years old and am a passionate mountaineer. I have climbed mountains in the Peruvian Andes, the Dolomites of Northern Italy, the Central Alps of Europe, the mountains of East Africa, and have been on three expeditions to the Himalayas of Nepal and Tibet. In the spring of 2006, I successfully reached the top of Mt. Everest.
I understand how powerful mountains can be, and how they can act as a spark to bring both personal and cultural change and awareness. I decided to organize this expedition to Annapurna after reading several books by Arlene Blum, the leader of the 1978 Annapurna Expedition. As a female mountaineer, I feel a connection with the Blum expedition, and I recognize and appreciate how much the efforts of Arlene Blum and her teammates advanced the equality and respect of women. I hope our expedition to Annapurna will inspire and empower women and men to oversome obstacles, strive for their goals, and realize achievement.
My husband Brad and I are going on this expedition to Annapurna together. We are excited to communicate with kids about our experiences in the Himalayas, including sending in postcards to this site.
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Tonya called today via satellite phone to report that their bid for the summit is a no-go due to weather forecast models calling for continuous 110+ km/hr (68 mph) winds. This in conjunction with the route
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Hi, this is Brad writing from Humde, Nepal on the 14th of September. We left Kathmandu five days ago, and it has been a busy five days! From Kathmandu we drove north to the town of Besi Sahar, and from
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I am the owner of Spindrift Films and a freelance producer and camera operator specializing in high altitude mountaineering and wilderness adventure subject matter. I have traveled to some of the most
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It is the night before we leave for Kathmandu, Nepal. Can you believe we will leave Denver, Colorado on Friday and land in Kathmandu on Sunday? It takes a long time to fly there, but also we will be crossing
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We arrived in Kathmandu yesterday after over 30 hours of travel. We are literally on the other side of the Earth, very far from home. Given that we changed planes in Los Angeles, California and again in
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Hello all! It's James McKee, Communications Manager for the Dare to Dream 2008 Expedition. I just received an update from Brad Clement, Expedition Co-Leader. He called on his satellite phone to share what
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Hello all: This is just a quick update to inform you that the blizzard that kept the team pinned to the Annapurna IV base camp has lifted and allowed the expedition team to ascend to Camp I. Brad reports
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