Kelly Cordes
Adhering to a life-long avoidance of full-time work, Kelly Cordes specializes in margaritas, maximizing outdoor time and climbing alpine-style routes. A stint at Pizza Hut (with flexible hours and free leftovers) led to years of shack dwelling, which somehow led to a full life of living, climbing and writing. Cordes is the author of The Tower: A Chronicle of Climbing and Controversy on Cerro Torre, which examines the mysterious and controversial death of Toni Egger, who was found lying at the base of Cerro Torre in 1959. Cordes has made first ascents of the Azeem Ridge on Great Trango Tower, Pakistan; Personal Jesus on Nevado Ulta, Peru; The Trailer Park on London Tower, Alaska; and Deadbeat and Ring of Fire, Thunder Mountain, Alaska. Cordes also completed the first link-up of Tiempos Perdidos and the upper West Face ice routes on Cerro Torre, Patagonia.