Winners
The winners of the third-annual Copp-Dash Inspire Award have been selected, representing objectives from Antarctica to Canada to Nepal. The Copp-Dash Inspire Award was established in the memory of Jonny Copp and Micah Dash who were killed in an avalanche (along with filmmaker Wade Johnson) on China’s Mount Edgar in May 2009. With Jonny and Micah’s deaths, the North American climbing community lost two of the great alpinists, characters and storytellers it has recently known.
It is with Jonny and Micah’s spirits and passions in mind that the Inspire Award provides the winning applicants with financial support, as well as assists the climbers before, during and after their expeditions with multimedia instruction to help empower them to share their current and future adventures with abroader audience.
2012
The 2012 Copp-Dash Inspire Award winners and their objectives are:
•Chris Wright with Geoff Unger. Southeast face of Lunag IV (6781m).
Other possible objectives include Little Lunag (6492m) and Lunag III
(6795m), all in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, and unclimbed.
• Sam Johnson with Ryan Johnson. 1400-meter southwest face
of Kizil Asker (5842m) in western Kokshall Too of Kyrgyzstan.
• Mike Libecki with Freddie Wilkinson. Belgica---Fabiola---BirgerBergensenfiella
area, Antarctica. First ascents on previously unclimbed big walls.
• Joshua Lavigne with Jon Walsh. Northwest face of the South
Tower of Mount Asgard, Baffin Island, Canada.
• Pat Goodman with Jeremy Collins and Brad Jackson. First ascent
of Peak 2600m (aka The Phoenix) via a new all free route up the 700-meter
east face, Logan Mountains, Canada.
2011
The 2011 Copp-Dash Inspire Award winners and their objectives were:
• Dave Burdick with Dylan Johnson and John Freih. A new, completely
independent rock and mixed line on the 1100m South Face of Mt. Burkett,
Stikine Icecap, Southeast Alaska.
• Jesse Spaulding with Kyle Kneely, Scott Parker and Conrad Piper-Ruth.
New routes, up to 6000m, in the Nangma Valley, Northern Pakistan.
• Kyle Dempster with Jewell Lund. First ascents in the Karavshin
Valley in southwestern Krgyzstan. Intermission bike ride from Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan to Skardu, Pakistan (approximately 1400 miles).
• Matt McCormick with Pat Goodman and Will Meinen. First ascents
of the Southwest Pillar of K7 West and an alpine-style first ascent
of a major sub-summit of K7 West, Nepal.
• Mike Libecki. Solo attempt for the first ascent of The Ibex
Horn, central Afghanistan.
2010
The 2010 Copp-Dash Inspire Award winners and their objectives were:
• Kevin Mahoney, South Face of Nuptse, Nepal; with Ben Gilmore
and Freddie Wilkinson. Alpine-style ascent of the South Face of Nuptse
(7,800 meters), via a new route on the perimeter of the Cobweb Wall.
• Madaleine Sorkin, Southeast Face of Mount Proboscis, Canada;
with Lorna Illingworth and Emily Stifler. First complete free ascent
of the 2000-foot Original Route.
• Matt McCormick, Southeast Pillar of K7 West, Pakistan; with
Jim Shimberg and Tim Deroehn. Alpine-style first complete ascent of
1500-meter sub-summit spire of K7 West.
• Sam Johnson, South Face of Mount Shand and traverse of Mount
Hayes massif, Alaska; with Ryan Hokanson. Alpine-style first ascent
of 1500-meter face on Mount Shand and 12-mile traverse of Mount Hayes
massif, entailing thousands of vertical meters of climbing.
• Sarah Garlick, northwest face of The Baroness, Greenland; with
Danika Gilbert, Jim Surette, and Dave Nettle. New free route on 2000-foot
northwest face of The Baroness.
• Will Meinen, North Face of Mount Geikie, Canada; with Fred McGuinness
and Scott Thumlert. First ascent on 4000-foot North Face of Mount Geikie
• Zack Smith, traverse of the Moose’s Tooth massif; with
Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson. A full traverse of the Moose’s
Tooth massif, entailing an estimated 12,000-feet of ice, rock and snow
climbing.