Ben Clark

What’s your day job?
Television producer and Host

What do you eat to sustain your energy while out?
Hydrate before I go and bring simple sugars and carbs. A little fatty protein is always good in the winter.

What is your favorite part about climbing/adventure? What keeps you coming back again and again?
Getting on the plane. From there I’m at least certain that I’m going somewhere I want to be. After that it’s a total adventure…I’ll probably end up in the right spot, but who knows how and when.

Favorite spot to climb, ski etc?
San Juan Mountains of Colorado, Nepali Himalaya

What layering system works best for you?
Light Baselayer, navigation pants on bottom, Super Power Stretch Hoody on top, Gore-Tex® shell and bibs, Compressor Pants and Hooded Jacket, Typhon Gloves and add a Monkey Man Zip T and Phantom Jacket for 7000M and above.

What is one piece of Mountain Hardwear gear that has really impacted your activity?
The Super Power Stretch Hoody. The Hood is killer.

Current Mountain Hardwear gear favorites?
Hooded Compressor Jacket, Argon Jacket, Monkey Man Zip T, Typhon Gloves.

Recent activity?
6 days a week, Ice climbing, Backcountry skiing, skiing on an area, weight lifting for a trip back to Nepal. It’s a righteous time to be outside.

February 12, 2010 – Mountain Hardwear Alpinist Ben Clark and partners, Josh Butson and Jon Miller, travelled to Nepal in 2009 to explore the culture and to climb (and ski) it’s steep terrain. The three witnessed an authentic glimpse into the Nepali culture and the unspoiled heights of the world’s most massive mountains.

Over the next 14 weeks, fans can relive the 2009 Expedition where the team attempted a new route, but was pinned on the 23,390ft Baruntse due to inclement weather. Follow along week to week (via video podcast) for a dynamic and candid review of the 2009 Expedition, and watch as the ‘09 footage unfolds into the 2010 Expedition and their awaited return to be the first to ski from the Baruntse summit this May.

For the trailer and weekly podcasts, visit: SkitheHimalayas.com

Bio:

At 19, I abandoned a career in architecture for an unknown path that I hoped would lead me to the top of Everest. Curiously enough, it did in 2003 at 23 years old. That path also led me everywhere in between and into some places I could’ve gone and some places I can’t believe I’ve gone…ever been to “The Pavement” in Nairobi, Kenya? Shhhhhh!!!!!

My twenties have been packed full of mileage, it’s cool to be in my last year of them and seeing more mountain ranges on the horizon instead of less. Clinging to the mountain lifestyle as much as the mountainside, I’ve woken up in as many places as possible and now call Telluride, Co. home. It feels good to know these mountains.

These days my resume is a collection of the experiences I always dreamed of living; backcountry turns in the morning, ice climbing in the afternoon, winter days bouldering and hopping on a rope in the desert, long runs in the dry summer mountains and enchaining peaks that once took entire days to climb. The alpine climbing is still sketchy and the mountains sometimes turn me away. I respect my partners and wouldn’t have these experiences without them or the support of sponsors.

Our expeditions always include covering a lot of ground at altitude. That means we have to be light enough for adventurous and technical alpine climbing and likely on a high mountain somewhere remote. To ski off and cover our ground safely in style is the epitomy of my dreams. Every now and then I wake up in the middle of that dream…we are carving turns, we have been climbing ice, we encounter some rock and we’re in the Himalaya and it’s now.
And we couldn’t be happier...join us sometime: Skithehimalayas.com