This is the 6th lecture of Winter School 2024!

This lecture will take place on campus in room 6-120 from 7pm to 9pm.

Guest Lecturers: Matthew and Eric Gilbertson

We are honored to have Matthew and Eric Gilbertson, fraternal twin brothers who were dedicated MITOC members and trip leaders from 2004-2015. During their time at MIT, they hiked the Appalachian Trail, biked from Alaska to Montana, and climbed the highest mountain in all 50 states. They hold a world record for the fastest time (and first people) to climb the highest mountain in all 23 North American Countries. They’re currently working on the ultimate peakbagging list - the 196 country high points. They hold PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Lecture Description

In our presentation, we’ll take you on a tour of the highest mountains in two-thirds of the world’s countries, from the jungles of Micronesia, to the highlands of Saudi Arabia, to the icy peaks of western Mongolia and the summit of K2, including updates to a few interesting country highpoints from this year (like discovering/surveying and making the first ascent of the highpoint of Uzbekistan). We’ll cover stealth peakbagging missions in Bahrain, armed escorts through the jungle of Belize, and sub-Arctic high-altitude mountaineering in Alaska, all in pursuit of the tallest summits. We’ll focus on trips relevant to Winter School (such as Everest, K2, Pobeda), with takeaway lessons about balancing careers and life with adventuring, plus strategies to maximize your time outdoors. Join us for an inspiring evening.

Winter School

Winter School is MITOC’s annual winter outdoors extravaganza, and our largest event of the year. Every weekend during IAP you will have the opportunity to get outdoors, learn new skills, meet other MITOC folks, and explore the wilderness in New England.

Winter School is open to anyone who wants to get outside during the winter!

TIM Ticket

If you are joining us after 7pm, you can access the building with a TIM ticket.