Changemaker Speaker: Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

This event is generously supported in part by the Broussard Family. 
FREE Tickets are available for STUDENTS of all grade levels.

Defying Limits: Climbing the 14 Highest Peaks

At 23, Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner reached the summit of her first 8,000-meter peak. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner has climbed all 14 of the seminal 8,000+ meter peaks, from Annapurna to Everest.  Upon completing the most daunting and feared mountain, K2, in the remote Karakoram Range, she became the first woman climber to do so without supplemental oxygen or porters. She completed her audacious quest on her 7th attempt up what many consider to be the most daunting of all climbs, the world’s second highest peak, K2 - known worldwide as the “Savage Mountain” - in the remote Karakoram Range of Pakistan and China. Through her stories and gripping footage, experience the grit, sheer will, and spunk it took to reach the final summit.

About Gerlinde

At 23, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner left her job as a nurse to pursue her driving passion - becoming a professional mountaineer. In time, with iron-willed determination and unmatched skill, Gerlinde conquered all fourteen 8,000 meter-peaks. By reaching the summit of the treacherous 8,611-meter-high K2, she became the first woman to scale all of these giants without the use of supplemental oxygen or high altitude porters. In other words, she relied only on her own sheer will, training, remarkable athleticism, and determination. Gerlinde lives in Upper Austria, where she spends her time rock climbing, mountaineering in the Alps, going on expeditions, and mentoring other climbers.