Winter 8000m

The Next Generation Of High Altitude Mountaineers

There are two types of people in this world in my opinion. Those that sit back and want there dream but chase it, and those that want there dream and that chase it until they get to it. Noah McKelvin, Brandon Molnar, Ryan Halsey are the ones that are going to chase there dreams until they get to it. We are going to climb the 14 8000m peaks together with no oxygen and in the winter. We all have met in the last six months and each of us have a different starting point into our dreams. We all have met though at the perfect time and are planning to start climbing seriously as soon as we can. We all live in different states and are bonded with the same motivation. We are the next generation of high altitude mountaineers with one thing in mind, to explore the world and to accomplish the hardest goal in mountaineering history. This is all of our stories. . .

Ryan Halsey

My dream started when I was about 7 years old. I was at the beach and we went to the IMAX theatre. I saw the Everest movie, and was fascinated. I realized that I wanted to do this in the future. The dream fell away eventually, and I was concerned with other things. I kept it in the back of my mind, but had no urge to climb.

Then, like Brandon, I saw the first Everest: Beyond the Limit. This set off my dream. I was old enough and knew I wanted to do it. I am now obsessed with mountaineering. I follow expeditions throughout the year. If you see me on the computer at school, 90% of the time, it is a mountaineering website.

I learned about Noah when I read an article about him. I then contacted him and met Brandon. These guys are great. I can't wait to get started.

Noah McKelvin

My dream started in a odd way and not in a way you would expect it to be started. It was in July of 2005 in which It all started. I had been climbing every once in a while and found joy in it but I really didnt think I would ever want to climb mountains like Everest or K2. I had a dream one night in July. I dreamt of me climbing Everest and that I fell through some crevasses and died. I woke up and had an interest like never before. Not to die but to climb Everest. That was the starting point of my dream.

I wanted to get way more information on Everest and the more I found out the more I wanted to climb it. I read books and more books about it. Things just fell into my dream and added to it more. When I get done with my life, I want to have lived a great life with many things accomplished that no one has done. I then learned about the 14 8,000m peaks and how hard it is to accomplish them. I learned there was some people that accomplished them and I want to be the first person to do something in mountaineering. And then a thought popped in my head and it was," No one has climbed all of them in the winter, so im going to!!"

I have always been a winter lover that loves the cold and wind and just snow all around you. It really is such a great feeling. I have slowly made my dream harder and I have figuered out about my whole dream. That is to climb all the 8,000m peaks in the winter with no oxygen. I might climb the 7 sub-summits though and definately all the 7 summits and the north and south pole. I have met and known 2 great friends Brandon and Ryan that have the same dream as me. They are going to soar to the top with me.

Brandon Molnar

Hi Im Brandon. My dream started in December 2006. I was a 230lb astmatic, overweight, and 14. I was your kid with no ambition and heading down a bad path. One day I was watching the discovery channel when the first episode of everest beyond the limit came on. I thought it was really cool what those guys did and how they sacrificed to be there. I decided I needed to find a goal like that. So why not Everest?

I began reading about climbing and it instantly became a part of my life. I eventually decided I was going to aim for the big 14 and become the first asthmatic to climb them and wth no oxygen in the winter. Now more than one year later I am 165lb, in shape, and able to control my asthma.

I learned of Noah after reading an article about him and decided to contact him. Now he is my planned climbing partner who I chat with often and im plannig on meeting him this summer when we do our first climbs together.

Preperation Peaks

We have all talked about what are plans are as a group. We have figuered out that we are going to call our quest. . "Daring Dreams". To inspire others to chase there dreams. We are going to start out in Colorado and eventually get to the point where we will attempt the 2.5 mile Snomass ridge connecting Capitol Peak and Snowmass Peak. We are going to then winter ascent Mount Hood as our first expedition. We will then head to Mount Rainier in the winter and then head to Aconcagua in the winter. Then we will eventually get to Ama Dablam in the winter. We will then get to the Denali and do a daring winter ascent on it. We are also wanting to attempt Nuptse and maybe another peak for all are preperation peaks.

The 14 8,000m Peaks In The Winter!

We still do not have this part totally figuered out but we are going to try to accomplish all the hardest peaks first and then finish off with the "easier ones" First off, Makalu by the original route, Next up, Kangchenjunga, and then Everest and Lhotse. We will then go to Nanga Parbat and head off to Annapurna maybe by the long ridge. We will then climb the most difficult peak to climb, K2. We will be attempting a new route on it on the South Face. We will then finish off the other ones in which the order we have no idea on.

If anyone has any comments or anything. Please contact us. We would like to hear from the people who have done such strenous climbs and hear what they think of our plans. We are trying to figuere out the best possible way to prepare for these peaks. So if you have a mountain in mind let us know. And we are always wanting gear so if you want to give away any, we will definately use it. Thanks looking forward to seeing everyone in the future.



"Daring Dreams"

Noah McKelvin, Ryan Halsey, Brandon Molnar