Winter School Guest Lecture Series

Tonight will be a double header!

Mike Nawrot is opening the evening! Mike is coming back to winter school to share a powerful personal story from his exploits in the Alps, traveling through surprising conditions.

Following Mike, we'll be hosting the Gilbertsons. The Gilbertsons are MIT and MITOC alums who were featured recently in New York Times! They are on a quest to summit all the country high points! They're perennial winter school speakers, and never cease to fascinate us with their exploits! Join lecture tonight and hear about what new adventures the Gilbertsons have been up to in the last year (and possibly up to right now!).

Here is a teaser to the lecture:

Want to travel to the summits of 151 countries in one evening? 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. 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, with takeaway lessons about balancing careers and life with adventuring, plus strategies to maximize your time outdoors. Join us for an inspiring evening.

Matthew and Eric Gilbertson are 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.

The talk will run from 7pm to 9pm in room 1-190.