The American Alpine Club announces 2018 Excellence in Climbing award recipients

Doug Chabot, Danika Gilbert, David Roberts and Jeff Jackson are to be honored at the American Alpine Club’s Excellence in Climbing Celebration at the History Colorado Center in Denver on June 2.

Chabot, Gilbert and Roberts are being inducted into the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence, and Jackson is receiving the H. Adams Carter Literary Award.

The Carter Literary Award “was previously given out at the Annual Benefit Dinner, but it ties in better with this event that benefits the AAC Library and Mountaineering Museum,” said AAC representative Whitney Bradberry.

The Carter award was established to recognize excellence in climbing literature. Jackson is being honored for “a decade of dedication and inspiring work at Rock and Ice magazine,” reads the club’s press release. Past recipients include Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives, Jon Krakauer, John Long and Alison Osius.

The following descriptions from the AAC press release explain why the other three people are being inducted into the Hall of Mountaineering excellence:

Doug Chabot–For co-founding the Iqra Fund, which provides access to quality education, especially for girls in the remote regions of northern Pakistan, improving their quality of life.

Danika Gilbert–For her work with ASCEND: Leadership Through Athletics, empowering young Afghan women through climbing to become leaders who are equipped and motivated to help their society transition to peace. [A feature story about the program that was published in Alpinist 61 can be found here.]

David Roberts–For his storied career as a published author of over 20 books and mentorship of young authors, preserving and growing the art of storytelling.

The Saturday celebration includes presentations by honorees, a cocktail reception, live and silent auctions, dinner and a dance party with live ’80s music by The Goonies. There is also a VIP event on Friday, June 1. Tickets ranging from $10 (dance party only) to $1,500 are now on sale. All proceeds support the AAC Library and The Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum.

For more information or to buy tickets, which “are very limited,” call (303) 384-0110 or visit americanalpineclub.org/excellence.

Registration closes May 29, or when sold out.

About the American Alpine Club

The American Alpine Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose vision is a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes. Together with our members, the AAC advocates for American climbers domestically and around the world; provides grants and volunteer opportunities to protect and conserve the places we climb; hosts local and national climbing festivals and events; publishes two of the world’s most sought-after climbing annuals, the American Alpine Journal and Accidents in North American Climbing; cares for the world’s leading climbing library and country’s leading mountaineering museum; manages the Hueco Rock Ranch, New River Gorge Campground, Rumney Rattlesnake Campground, Samuel F. Pryor Shawangunk Gateway Campground, and Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch as part of a larger lodging network for climbers; and annually gives $100,000+ toward climbing, conservation, and research grants that fund adventurers who travel the world. Learn about additional programs and become a member at www.americanalpineclub.org.