OP Director

Outdoor Program Director, Brien Sheedy, exuberantly summiting a snow-covered peak.

BRIEN SHEEDY
Whitman College Director of Outdoor Programs
Senior NOLS Instructor
AAI Guide

Brien brings a wealth of outdoor education and expedition experience to the Whitman College Outdoor Program. Brien had been running the Whitman Outdoor program since 2001. He has climbed the highest peak on every continent and has guided all over the world. He is extremely proficient in a wide variety of skill areas including whitewater kayaking, rafting, sea kayaking, telemark skiing and all aspects of climbing (rock, ice, big walls and high altitude.) He loves teaching outdoor skills and leading trips and expeditions that help people push their limits and succeed at difficult challenges.

In addition to running the Outdoor Program at Whitman Brien also does some guiding for Alpine Ascents International and is a Senior Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School where he worked for over a decade, accumulating over 200 field weeks. He led courses and expeditions all over the western US and Canada and worked roughly four years out of the country between Kenya , India , Chile and Mexico .

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from SUNY ESF at Syracuse and a Master's Degree in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied Nepali for two years and conducted his thesis research on ecotourism in Nepal .

Brien is proud of the fact that in September, the Outdoor Program was named the #1 outdoor program in the state of Washington by the Tacoma News Tribune and also ranked very high on a volunteer safety accreditation by Adventure Safety International.

Selected Certifications:
Wilderness First Responder
Avalanche Level II
Leave No Trace Master Trainer
AMGA Top rope Site Manager
ACA kayaking instructor
Utah and Idaho licensed whitewater guide
PADI Divemaster

Significant Climbing Ascents:
Everest (1 personal)
Vinson (1 personal)
Denali (1 personal + 1 guided)
Aconcagua (1 personal)
Elbrus (1 personal)
Kilimanjaro (1 personal)
Mt. Kenya (4 guided)
Himachel Pradesh , India (2 guided)
Ixtaciuatl (1 personal)
Popocatepetl (1 personal)
Rainier (3 personal)
Baker (2 guided)
Adams (2 guided)
Glacier Peak (4 guided)
Logan (Cascades) (2 Guided)
Mera Peak (1 personal)

Courses Brien teaches at Whitman:
SSRA 387 Advanced climbing and site management
SSRA 380 Outdoor Leadership
SSRA 334 Sea Kayak Guide Leadership
SSRA 342 Wilderness Stewardship Expedition
SSRA 140a Beginning Whitewater Kayaking
SSRA 126 Glacier Mountaineering
SSRA 116 General Outdoor Adventure
SSRA 487c Independent Study Research

Additional Courses that Brien Oversees:
SSRA 138a,b,c,d,e Beginning Rock climbing
SSRA 238 a & b Intermediate Rock climbing
SSRA 140b Beginning Kayaking
SSRA 240 Wilderness First Aid
SSRA 242 a & b Wilderness First Responder
SSRA 332 River Guide Leadership
SSRA 115a Beginning Telemark skiing

Resume

What is Brien up to?

Summer 2007

Denali Expedition 15-June 10.
Brien lead a Denali Expedition for Alpine Ascents International. You can follow the expedition online at the Alpine Ascents Website. He is co-leading the expedition with Eric Murphy, and they are leading team III.

Carstenz Pyramid June 23-July 8, Summited on July 2.
Carstenz Pyramid in Indonesia is the highest peak in Oceana.

Climbing on Mount Rainier July 20th-30th.
Brien lead three 3-day expeditions on Mount Rainier with Alpine Ascents International.

Past Expeditions

Seven Summit History for Brien Sheedy

Mountain	Height	Route	Location	Summit Partners	Summit Date
Mount McKinley	20,320ft 6195m	West Buttress	Alaska, North America	Rob Duncan, Eric Remza	May 1994 & May 22, 2006
Mount Kilimanjaro	19,339ft 5963m	Normal Route	Tanzania, Africa	Tanzanian porter and another American	October 5, 1996, 4:45am
Mount Aconcagua	22,840ft 6962m	Normal Route	Argentina, South America	Solo on summit but Moe Sheedy made it to 20,000ft	January 12, 1999
Mount Everest	29,029ft 8848m	South Side Route	Nepal/Tibet, Asia	Kevin Flynn, Jason Tanguay, Dan Barter, Rauno Houglin	May 15, 2004, 1pm
Elbrus	18,481ft 5633m	Traverse to normal route after Irik Valley approach	Russia, Europe	Dan Barter, Jim Gagne	July 1, 2005
Vinson Massif	16,067ft 4897m	Traverse Route. Acsended right ridge and descended the left	Ellingsworth Range, Antartica	Kevin Flynn, Jason Tanguay, Dan Barter, Jim Gagne, Phil Ershler, Dale Darling, Jordan Roderick	December 3, 2005, 5:45pm
Mount Kosciuszko*	7,310ft 2228m	Via Charolette's Pass	Australia	Maurice Sheedy	December 31, 2005, Noon
Carstenz Pyramid *	16,023ft 4884m	Normal Route	Indonesia, Oceania 's Highest peak	Kevin Flynn Dan Barter Jim Gagne Henrick Olsen	July 2, 2007 9am

* There is some debate amongst climbers as to whether Mount Kosciuszko vs Carstenz Pyramid should be considered the seventh summit. My feeling is that Kosciuszko should be the seventh even though it is easier because there is no way that you could successfully argue that Australia is not a continent. However, it was fun to climb Carstenz anyway since it was a good excuse for a fun adventure with friends.