Tom Prigg

Background

I Started Rock climbing 1996, met my wife to be in 2000. I wanted to get Jen into climbing so we took the ECP rock school together in the spring of 2000. I didn’t know what I didn’t know so the school was fine with me. When I began rock climbing I was the kind of person that I hate now. My friend picks me up and we head to Cooper’s Rock in West Virginia. I sit down in the car he hands me “How to Top rope” and says, “Here, figure out these knots as I drive...

Welcome to rock climbing.

My wife and I then took the Mountain School that fall. We loved the school until the end. Mt. Washington was a hard time. I had not eaten enough and was bonking. I pushed myself and would not quite. I wondered if I would return to mountaineering. Well, as with every mountaineering trip you forget the suffering. By morning I was ready to plan another mountain. I entered the endless cycle that every mountaineer knows all too well.

Much of my attitude comes from my 4 years in the military. I was an M60 gunner for 2 years and then a recon sniper. I gained many of my skills there.

Suffering... Cold weather camping... Navigation (panama jungle)... Drinking

Certifications:

• Wilderness First Responder (2007), CDS, Pittsburgh, PA
• AIARE Avalanche Level I (2007), Acadia Mountain Guides, Smuggler’s Notch, VT
• High Angle Rescue (2007), Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group, Pittsburgh, PA

Teaching experience:

• Rock climbing instructor (2005-present), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA
• United States Army 82nd Airborne (1988-1992), Sniper team leader, Reconnaissance Scout
• Mountaineering instructor for the Explorer’s Club of Pittsburgh (volunteer) (2001-present)
• Rock Climbing instructor for the Explorer’s Club of Pittsburgh (volunteer) (2001- present)
• Mountaineering school chair for the Explorer’s Club of Pittsburgh (volunteer) (2006-present)
• Mountaineering school director for the Explorer’s Club of Pittsburgh (volunteer) (2002-2004)

Significant Mountaineering Experience:

• Presidential Traverse (winter, Feb.), North Conway, NH (2007), 18 miles, 9 summits
• Pfeifferhorn (winter ascent), Little Cottonwood, UT (2006), DNF: 300 ft. from summit. Turned back due to high avalanche hazard. Route: Total elevation: 11,326 ft.
• Mt. Whitney, Pine Creek, CA (2005), Route: Whitney trail, Total elevation: 14,496 ft. (4393m), 22 miles round trip in a day.
• Half Dome (Big Wall), Yosemite, CA (2004), Route: North West Route, Total elevation: 8,842 ft. (2679m)
• Mt. Blanc du Tacul, Chamonix, France (2003), Route: North face, Total elevation: 14,018 ft (4248m)
• Col Rosa, Dolomites-Tofane, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy (2003), Route: Ferrata Ettore, Total ascent: 900 m, Total elevation: 7,128 ft. (2160m)
• Sentiero Attrezzato Averau, Mt. Averau (2003), Total ascent: 500m, Total elevation: 8,749 ft. (2649m)
• Punta Anna, Dolomites-Tofana di Mezzo, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy (2003), Route: Ferrata Giuseppe Olivieri, Total ascent: 1400 m, Total elevation 9012 ft. (2731m)
• Mt. Gannett, Wyoming (2002), Route: Gooseneck Glacier, 43 miles round trip in 3 days, Total ascent: 1400 m, Total elevation 13,804 ft. (2731m)
• Mt. Washington (winter ascents), New Hampshire (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005), Total elevation: 6,288 ft. (1905m)