http://www.pursuebalance.org

http://www.skithe14ers.com

National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - brochure - Index

Chris Davenport
Chris Davenport’s thirst for the outdoors is rarely satisfied.
Growing up in an outdoor-loving family in
Boston, he spent most of his winters skiing and summers
backpacking. At 16, Chris embarked on a 30-day
life changing experience with NOLS, a Wind River
Mountaineering course. Truly living in the moment,
Chris opted to heighten his experience in a unique way.
“On our small group expedition, I fasted for four
days,” recalls Chris. “I had never done anything like
that and I am still very proud of my accomplishment.”
Wanting to continue his backcountry adventures,
at 17 he enrolled on a 14-day Rock Climbing course,
also in the Winds.
“My experiences with NOLS are the most significant
events in my life in terms of sending me down
my career path as a professional athlete,” says Chris.
“They are inspiring, defining moments that taught me
self-confidence and self-assurance.”
Following his courses, Chris continued to develop
his outdoors skills by participating in a number of
recreational opportunities. Skiing, however, remained
his true passion. He raced for the Holderness Academy
in New Hampshire and later at the University of Colorado
in Boulder. In 1993, while serving as a race
coach after college, his focus shifted to freeskiing. In
1996, he won the World Extreme Skiing Championships
in Valdez, Alaska.
This win has become merely the tip of the iceberg
of Chris’ competitive results. Since then, he has
claimed numerous victories and been featured in various
print media, television coverage and ski films.
Still, Chris yearned for something more. On January
22, 2006, having successfully skied Mount Lincoln,
Chris started a project that only one man, 1968
NOLS grad Lou Dawson, had ever accomplished: to
climb and ski each of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks,
(also known as “the Fourteeners”). Not only would he
climb and ski each, but he decided to ski all 54 in one
season; a sizeable goal considering it took Dawson 13
years to complete the same task. Chris’ dream became
a reality on January 19, 2007, with his last run, the
successful climb and descent of Long’s Peak.
“I am most proud of my Fourteeners project,” he
says. “It was like 54 expeditions all rolled into one and
was incredibly rewarding.”
This season, Chris hopes to release a book and a
film documenting his project. Next on his to do list
are California’s fourteeners, the next step to becoming
the first person to climb and ski every fourteener in
the United States. He and his wife are also expecting
a child, their third, in January.
Jimmy Chin
Neal Beidleman
MY EXPERIENCES WITH NOLS ARE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN MY LIFE IN TERMS OF
SENDING ME DOWN MY CAREER PATH AS A
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. THEY WERE INSPIRING,
DEFINING MOMENTS THAT TAUGHT ME
SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ASSURANCE.
FALL 2007
In June 2007, at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, both Kit and Chris were presented with the Everest Award for
Expedition of the Year. Considered “Oscars of the Outdoors,” receiving an “Everest” is one of the greatest achievements in
climate-driven sports. Capturing the experience of a lifetime through dedication and devotion, both have left revolutionary
tracks in the ski mountaineering world. Though, however you look at it, Kit and Chris were merely doing what they love to do.
For more information about Kit’s nonprofit Pursue Balance, visit www.pursuebalance.org. For details about Chris’ descents
of Colorado’s 54 Fourteeners, go to www.skithe14ers.com.
7
Opposite page: Chris Davenport takes in the view high on
the south face of Mt. Rainier. This page, clockwise from top
left: Kit Deslauriers descending Mt. Everest, the last descent
in her goal to ski all Seven Summits; Kit crossing a crevasse
during her ascent of Mt. Everest; Chris Davenport about to
ski Long’s Peak, the 54 th and final descent that completed
his Colorado Fourteeners project on January 19, 2007.
Jimmy Chin