Gavin Attwood, Founder Summit Xperience

Gavin Attwood has been an avid mountaineer all of his life. Born in the UK, he was a frequent visitor and climber in the English Lake District, Welsh mountains and rugged Scottish Highlands. He also made ascents of many peaks in the Austrian Alps.

Gavin immigrated to New Zealand in the early 1990's and taught Outdoor Pursuits to high school students. After meeting his Colorado-born wife, Amy, he settled in Lakewood, Colorado and has climbed, skied and run the trails of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. He has twice run the Pikes Peak marathon, competed in three ‘Ironman’ distance triathlons and two triathlon World Championships.

Gavin was a member of the team that guided six blind Tibetan teenagers to 22,000ft on the north side of Mt Everest in 2004. The documentary of that expedition ‘Blindsight’ has recently won awards at several film festivals including Toronto, AFI in Los Angeles, Berlin, London and Sydney. It is to be released in the US in 2008.

In 2007, Gavin joined the Project Himalaya team to make an attempt on Mt Everest from the north (Tibetan) side. He was turned around due to problems with his oxygen system at about 28,500ft on his summit push and subsequently endured a grueling and dangerous decent to safety out of the ‘Death Zone’. He will make a second attempt on Mt Everest in 2009, again via the North Col route.

As founder of Summit Xperience, Gavin leads expeditions to places like Mt Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, and Mt Aconcagua.

Presentations

Gavin is available for presentations to your group or organization. He will show amazing slides and tell stories of his adventures around the world. Here are some testimonials given by people who have attented some of Gavin's past presentations.

Thank you so very much for sharing your exciting summit adventures with the members of the North Colorado Springs Rotary Club. We were captivated by your charming wit and ease in connecting with our members. There is no doubt that you love sharing your mountaineering experiences with others. Your presentation was simply mesmerizing and the photos of the landscape at the summit were spectacular!

Willia Glover, President
North Colorado Springs Rotary

The club, Arvada Jefferson Kiwanis, was so pleased with your recent presentation. They loved your pictures and sharing your experiences. You make everyone want to climb. You also have such a warm and friendly manner about yourself and make everyone feel they have known you for a long time. I am sure you will be invited back to the club to speak again.

Susan Walter,
Past President
Arvada Jefferson Kiwanis

Gavin came to the Westminster 7:10 Rotary club on July 23, 2008 and gave an absolutely outstanding program!

The combination his first-hand accounts and the amazing images he brings made the thrill of mountain climbing real to the club. For those unfamiliar with the sport, he did a fantastic job of bringing the reality of this extraordinary activity - both good and challenging aspects - to our awareness. Gavin's charming personality and natural talent for public speaking made the presentation one of the best we have had in months. Inspiring to some, enlightening to all, we very much appreciate the time that he spent with us.

Martin Postma
2006-2007 President,
Westminster 7:10 Rotary
Westminster, Colorado

Gavin, I can't thank you enough for your presentation to the International Order of Rocky Mountain Goats today. It was the best I've heard in many years. I was particularly interested in your work with disabled youngsters. Who else would take a blind kid up Mt. Everest? There are a whole lot of 14ers in Colorado and I would follow you up any one of them. I've taken the liberty to mention your work to several people including several school administrators.

Bob Erickson
Board of Directors
International Order of Rocky Mountain Goats.