Kaenon Polarized

Adrian Ballinger (Lewi, Black Pearl, G12 lens) and a group of fellow climbers and sherpas recently summited Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Under a well-timed ascent and stable weather conditions, the group achieved their amazing goal of standing on the top of the world, and climbed back down to the safety of Base Camp. Ballinger is led a commercial team up Everest’s south side beginning May 19 and summited on May 24th, 2010.

Ballinger (34) has led technical high-altitude expeditions to the Himalaya since 1997 and is the owner of Alpenglow Expeditions, based out of Lake Tahoe, California. This season, Ballinger is serving as the lead Everest guide for Himalayan Experience—or HIMEX—considered by many as the premier high-altitude guiding outfit in the world. HIMEX and the company’s founder, Russell Bryce, have been featured on the Discovery Channel’s Beyond Everest series for the past three seasons. Ballinger was also featured on the show last year.

Adrian Ballinger is one of the top ski guides in the world.  Look for him in the most recent series of Mount Everest, “Beyond the Limits” on the Discovery Channel and check out this clip for a sneak peek.

Ballinger checked in with Kaenon providing an update on his travels:

“It’s been another incredible season here in Chamonix, and hard to believe it is almost time already to leave for the spring Himalaya season. Time in the Alps always flies by, and this season has been no exception. Snow and coverage has been top notch in 2010—all the famous ski routes have been in all the way down to the valley, avalanche hazard has been low, and we have even had our share of sunny days.

“One of the real benefits of basing out of Chamonix for skiing is the incredible variety of terrain and options regardless of weather. On storm days we can ski trees or close to the lift systems. As storms end we begin skiing the big classic off-piste lines directly from the lift systems all the way to town (imagine 7000-9000 vertical foot descents with no hiking or ski touring to access them).

And then when we get a few bluebird days in a row we go on long ski tours, combining rides on lifts with ski touring and mountaineering, progressively traveling further and further and often starting in one town, eating lunch in another, and finishing the day with a beer in another town and usually in a different country!

“This year we have been heading through the famous Mont Blanc tunnel and skiing lots in Italy. The Italian Alps close to Chamonix have great snow, few people, and of course the world’s best espresso and pizza! Here are a few pictures from this season in and around Chamonix. Stay posted for a more complete photo gallery to come soon.”

Adrian Ballinger wears a variety of Kaenon sunglasses, from Hard Kore and Jetty to Baton. Adrian prefers a G12 lens to combat harsh glacier and snow reflection.

THE OPTIMAL QUESTIONS | Alpinist Adrian Ballinger
by GIANPAOLO PIETRI on 12/26/2009
“Recently, I had the good fortune of crossing paths with world-class alpinist and Everest guide, Adrian Ballinger, and arranged an interview on the optimalists.com. As you will see, Adrian has been living his dream as a climber, skier, and high-altitude alpine guide for over 15 years. He climbed Everest for the first time in April of this year, and the experience will be featured during the next week on the Discovery Channel’s show, Everest:Beyond the Limit. He runs a succesful business making others’ dreams of summiting some of the world’s most dangerous peaks come true. We’ve asked Adrian about what inspires him, what scares him, and what motivates him to continue his quest to push the limit, to define new boundaries, and discover the truth within himself. We not only admire men like Adrian, we cherish the contributions he offers us with every climb, every journey, and every summit. Adrian teaches us that we can always climb higher, dream bigger, and go farther than we ever thought we could. And that is what we are all about. Here is what he has to say.”

To read the full article, visit The Optimalists and read more on Adrian and his treks to the world highest peaks.  Adrian wears Lewi, Black Pearl, G12 Lens.

EXPEDITION | MOUNTAINEERING | CLIMBING – HIMALAYA, NEPAL
On May 21, 2009 Kaenon explorer and guide, Adrian Ballinger summitted Mt. Everest (29,035 feet) wearing Kaenon Polarized Sunglasses. Adrian spent 2 months on the peak preparing for the team’s summit bid. May 21-May 25 was a perfect summit window, and during that time the team became the most successful commercial Everest expedition ever, putting 58 climbers (Westerners and Sherpa) on the summit (we understand this is a controversial area – the commercialization of Everest), with zero accidents or fatalities. Instead of the traditional cumbersome glacier glasses that most climbers wear, Adrian wore Kaenon’s Jetty C12 down low, and Lewi G12 up high and found the optics, coverage and polarization perfect for the extreme conditions found on the mountain. At 29,000 feet there is less than 30% of sea level atmosphere between climbers and the sun – and the perfect testament to the performance of Kaenon’s SR-91 lenses.

EXPEDITION

Adrian Ballinger Takes Kaenon Polarized to the Top of the World

Reaching the top of one of the planet’s highest mountains, Kaenon Polarized adventurer and AMGA and IFMGA mountain guide, Adrian Ballinger (Lewi G12, Baton Ivory C12 ) just returned home from 5 months of guiding in the Himalayas, where he summitted the world’s eighth tallest peak, Manaslu – 26,775 feet. Adrian, who requires serious protection from high-altitude exposure, chose to take Kaenon Polarized along with him for the superior optical clarity of SR-91 and its ability to provide unsurpassed protection from wind, sun and glare. As a cool-down, Adrian decided to bag another major peak, Ama Dablam, which stands at 23,000 feet.  To learn more about Adrian and what he’s up to, visit his guide service, Alpenglow Expeditions at http://www.alpenglowexpeditions.com/.