About this episode
Adrian Ballinger and the Alpenglow Expedition team had success on Everest! First, Sam and Adrian had a chance to catch up briefly following Adrian's 10th summit of the tallest mountain in the world. In this episode of The Duffel Shuffle, the two touch base with Esteban "Topo" Mena, Alpenglow's co-expedition leader, from base camp on the North Side of Mount Everest before Alpenglow's summit push. Topo Mena is an IFMGA guide, Black Diamond Athlete and an inspiration to many. Topo’s accomplishments include many summits of 8,000m peaks, including multiple on Everest as well as K2, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, Cho Oyu, Makalu, and Manaslu, as well as more than 250 summits of Cotopaxi in his home country of Ecuador. Topo has participated in grade VI first ascents in the Himalayas and in the Tien Shan, unsupported ascents without supplementary oxygen of 8000m peaks (including Mount Everest in 2013 at age 23 during his first expedition to the mountain), and numerous ascents pursuing difficulty or speed in his beloved Andes, or in the Himalayas, Karakorum, Alps, Tien Shan, Pamirs and Antarctica. Following up on Episode 2 of the Duffel Shuffle, Sam and Adrian check back with Topo to hear about his recovery, and how he perceives his return to "100%". - Topo talks about his role as Co-Expedition Leader alongside Adrian with Alpenglow Expeditions' Everest Team. - Topo shares a bit about the importance of a strong team on Everest, and how being co-expedition leader alongside such a strong team of guides makes the role easy. - Topo talks about his personal climbing goals, and his continued focus on opening a new route on Mt Everest. You can learn more about Topo on Instagram, @estebantopomena, and through his sponsor https://blackdiamondequipment.com/blogs/athletes/esteban-topo-mena. Follow our podcast on Instagram @duffelshufflepodcast where you can learn more about us and our guests. Visit our website at www.duffelshufflepodcast.com and join our mailing list. The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit www.alpenglowexpeditions.com or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.