Ever wonder what it takes to summit and ski Mt. Everest? Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum has invited the extreme skiing and climbing duo Kit and Rob DesLauriers to talk about their high altitude adventures at our virtual Red Bench Speaker Series on Thursday, January 27th at 7:00 pm.
Rob DesLauriers began skiing at the age of two on the slopes of Vermont’s Bolton Valley, a ski resort owned by his parents. Vermont skiing conditions laid the foundation for Rob’s future ski feats ranging from appearances in Warren Miller ski films to a coveted Powder Magazine title as a “Top 50 Skier in North America.” As a professional extreme skier from 1988 to 2000, he starred in over 20 ski films and produced 5 ski films as a member of The North Face Alpine Team.
Kit and Rob met in 1999 while on a ski mountaineering trip to Mt Belukha, the highest mountain in Siberia. Their lives, dreams, and mountain adventures have been intertwined ever since.
Kit DesLauriers is a professional ski mountaineer and adventurer and a two-time World Freeskiing Women’s Champion. She is the first person to climb and successfully ski from the highest mountain on each continent, famously known as the “Seven Summits”. Kit was inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2019 and has been a member of The North Face Global Athlete Team since 2005. She has also made several first ski descents of the US Arctic’s highest peaks. She was named a 2015 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.
Rob, an accomplished ski filmmaker and climber, accompanied Kit on Vinson Massif, Mt. Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, Denali, and Mount Everest on her quest for the 7 Summits. Rob and Kit live and ski with their two young daughters at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village.
Kit’s quest to ski the tallest peaks on every continent lives in perpetuity in her book, Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits, a personal account that brims with insights on leading a life with intention, managing risk, and the partnerships and moments that make life worthwhile. Copies are available in the Museum Gift Shop and Online Store.
Kit and Rob will join us on the Red Bench from their home at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village. It’s a rare occasion to sit down with them both as they share their experiences, the genesis and evolution of their partnership, the plans that led up to Kit’s 7 Summits success, future dreams, and what it’s like to raise two fearless, ripping daughters. Moderating this event is VTSSM Executive Director, Abby Blackburn.
This series is sponsored by:
rk Miles
AJ’s Ski & Sports, Schoeller, Sisler Builders, and VT Ski + Ride.
Support the Red Bench Speaker Series by making a donation today!
Rob & Kit on Denali