First American expedition. The Harvard Mountaineering Club is celebrating its 80th Anniversary by undertaking an expedition to Kyrgyzstan. During most of the month of August, the Harvard climbers will push into unexplored valleys and attempt first ascents of unnamed and unclimbed mountains in the Central Borkoldoy Range. This will be the first American expedition to the region, and the results will be reported to the American Alpine Club and the International Mountaineering Federation.

Only five previous expeditions in area. For political reasons, the Borkoldoy range was only opened to foreign mountaineering in the last decade. Only five expeditions have reported visiting the range since, and numerous peaks from 14,000 to 18,000 feet remain unclimbed and unnamed. The area is an extremely remote and practically unexplored haven for alpine style climbers, located on the border between Kyrgyzstan and China and part of the greater Tien Shan Mountain Range.

Leave No Trace Philosophy. The expedition will practice the Leave No Trace philosophy, carrying out waste in order to preserve the pristine beauty of the area for future generations.

Expedition members. The club will send accomplished photographers Laura Fox and Dr. Bjarne Holmes, Instructor in Psychology at the Harvard Medical School, as well as aspiring filmmaker Corey Rennell '07 to document the expedition. Other members include two undergraduate officers of the club, Alexander Cole '08 and Lucas Laursen '06, recent alumnus George Brewster '03, and Harvard graduate students Kelly Faughnan and Adilet Imambekov. Wilderness medicine instructor Dave Krause will serve as the expeditions medic. Between them, expedition members have climbed in Greenland, Peru, Alaska, Ecuador, California, Mexico, Colorado, and throughout Europe.

History of the club. From first ascents in the Canadian Rockies in the 1920s to new routes in Alaska and the Himalaya in the 1930s, 50s, and 60s, the Harvard Mountaineering Club has a long tradition of world-class collegiate mountaineering. This year's anniversary has inspired a surge of renewed interest in the clubs trips, lectures, and publications, culminating in this expedition.

How you can be involved. The expedition is currently accepting suggestions for sponsorship and advertising collaborations from local and national businesses. Please contact Lucas Laursen, President of the Harvard Mountaineering Club on 951.235.2386 or laursen@fas.harvard.edu .