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Primal Quest Assembles Climbing “Dream Team”

Kraig Becker / photo Corey Rich / 01.03.2008

In order to ensure that Primal Quest Montana continues the legacy that is associated with the PQ brand, an incredible team has been assembled to design a challenging course befitting “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition.”

Case in point, the Primal Quest Climbing Team, which has been brought onboard to scout and design sites for the ropes challenges that will stand in the way of the teams come June. This climbing “dream team” has unparalleled experience in the mountains all over the planet, including Himalaya, Karakorum, and Patagonia. As individuals they are each very accomplished and well known, even beyond the world of mountaineering. Together they make up an amazing team that brings its considerable skills and knowledge to the PQ course.

Conrad Anker: Known for his technically challenging climbs in the Himalaya and Antarctica, Conrad is no stranger when it comes to high altitude ascents on big mountains. Both a mountaineer, and a rock climber, he has topped out on such peaks as Ama Dablam, Vinson Massif, and Mt. Everest. Some of his more technical routes include all three towers of the Cerro Torre group in Patagonia and numerous routes on El Capitan in Yosemite.

In 1999, Conrad was part of the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition, which discovered the body of the George Mallory, the famed British climber who went missing on the mountain back in 1924. In 2007, Conrad returned to Everest, claiming another summit, after successfully free climbing the Second Step on the North Side.

Conrad also founded and directs the Khumbu Climbing School in the Everest Region of Nepal. The school is an annual vocational training and instructional program designed to increase the competency of Nepali people who climb and / or work in the high mountains

A writer and filmmaker, Conrad resides in Bozeman, Montana.

Jay Smith: With more than 36 years of climbing experience, 27 years as a mountain guide, Jay Smith has been on more than 25 international expeditions, putting up over a thousand first ascents on walls all over the world. Jay is a rock climbing specialist who counts numerous ascents on El Cap and Half Dome amongst his many accomplishments. He has also climbed the Central Tower of Paine in Patagonia, putting up a new route in the process, and faced the Phantom Wall on Mt. Huntington in Alaska, completing it in Alpine Style.

Jay spent 20 years as the Director and Chief Guide for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group with the U.S. Navy Seals. No stranger to the world of adventure racing, Jay was the chief rigger for ropes courses in Eco Challenge 95, X-Games 95, and Primal Quest 2006. He is the owner of High and Wild Mountain Guides and resides in Castle Valley, Utah.

Jay is responsible for creating a team of world-class climbing gurus who will create and direct the Primal Quest Montana ropes course.

Kitty Calhoun: Kitty started rock climbing at the age of 18 and then added ice to her repertoire a year later. Since then she’s summitted some of the most iconic mountains in the world including Cordillera Blanca in Peru, Denali in Alaska, and El Capitan in Yosemite. She has two 8000 m peaks to her name, claiming a summit on Dhaulagiri and the first female ascent of Makalu along the West Pillar.

Kitty has been a mountain guide since 1981 and has lead teams in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Alaska, and Nepal. She is currently a regular guide for “Chicks With Picks”, a series of women-only ice climbing clinics and is amongst the most accomplished American alpinists. She makes her home in Castle Valley, Utah, with husband Jay Smith.

Primal Quest 2008 takes place in Montana this June 21 – July 2:
www.ecoprimalquest.com