Osprey Athletes: Ben Clark
Ben Clark
Mountaineer
Favorite Packs: Atmos 65
Ben Clark is a person on the hunt for adventure and the complexities of
it's process. Somehow the gut of his mind can't be satiated and like
his small dog, it has an enormous capacity for indulgence. Of course,
it is hard to achieve balance when you are only connected to earth
through cold metal edges, sticky rubber or inches of snow. "When I
wake up next to my wife I know I'm home" he says, "otherwise somewhere
in the world I am on my feet searching for something." Clark enjoys
the earth and while on it, tries to document every moment he can.
In recent years, Ben has racked up vertical miles by climbing to the
roof of the world, 29,035' Mount Everest's summit at 23 and then
established first ascents on rock, ice, alpine and at extreme altitude
while carving first descents on 7000 meter peaks in the Himalayas. But
climbing up and skiing down is clearly the tip of the iceberg for a man
on a mission of adventure and carrying a camera. Clark also logged
1000's of horizontal miles strapped into a 17 year old Land Rover
filming by day sleeping on top of it by night and pulling off a
personal record unworthy of Guiness the book, but maybe Guiness the
beer; recreating in every state in the west in 2010. " I just live in
this tiny valley" Clark says, "When I leave here I want to go somewhere
new and see our nation and the world's landscapes. I get pretty into it."
A self professed pioneer and manifester of bum-hood monikers, today
Clark resembles a man who has risen from the poor times of being a
Climbing Bum (not much stuff), into the vibrant times of Mountain Town
Ski Bum (man, what's up with stuff?) and now surviving as a Film Buff
making documentaries as far out as his imagination and partners will
allow him to push (stuff happens ; -).
"I feel lucky you know, life has evolved into what it is I really
wanted and making it happen with the right friends, people and purpose.
Having a day job that lists: "Must Explore" as a duty is pretty ideal"
Today, Clark climbs and skis the Himalayas for the pure joy of what may
happen, but trains in his home mountains in between edits and when not
on location documenting an adventure. "Somehow I get to live the best
of both worlds. I love to tell stories, I love living the wildest
dreams, love it, but what inspires me? I think going out and seeing
the world from a mountaintop, a riverbed a desert...hey, whatever and
whenever you can. There with my friends, that's where I'd want to be."
Live The Dream,
Ben Clark
Thank you to all of the following sponsors and supporters:
Mountain Hardwear
Osprey Backpacks
Sterling Ropes
Garmont
Dynafit
Smith Optics
Clif Bar
Petzl
Plum TV
Telluride Ski and Golf
Thank you to the following individuals:
Annie Clark
Tara Butson
Jerry Clark
