Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict

Sometimes, the best way to see the world is from 25,000 feet up. Join world-class alpinist Steve Swenson as he shares stories and images from his newly released book, Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict (Mountaineers Books), which details his nearly four decades of climbing in the Karakoram Range, which spans Pakistan, India, and China. Through a 45-minute multimedia presentation, Steve explores the nature of high altitude, alpine climbing, the complexities of mounting remote expeditions, the fraught geopolitics of the region, as well as his passion for the cultural communities in this area of the world. The program will be followed by a Q&A and book signing.

Co-sponsored by Arc’teryx and Mountaineers Books with support from the American Alpine Club (AAC).

About the speaker

World-class alpinist Steve Swenson has been climbing for nearly half a century and is a former president of the American Alpine Club. Among many other accomplishments, he and his teammates were awarded a prestigious Piolet d’Or in 2012 for their successful first ascent of Saser Kangri II (7,518 meters), the second-highest unclimbed mountain in the world at the time. Swenson’s writing has appeared in Climbing, Rock and Ice, Alpinist, and The American Alpine Journal. He divides his time between Seattle, Washington, and Canmore, Alberta. Learn more about Karakoram.