Left to Right, (Summit of Denali 20,320ft)…..    Wayne Morris, Jose Rionda, Jeff Strite

The expedition currently consists of three team members, Jose Rionda from Charlotte, NC, Jeff Strite from Arlington, VA, and myself, Wayne Morris. I am 36 years old and have lived in Delray Beach, Florida since relocating with Office Depot from the UK in August 2003. We will be under the leadership of Mike Hamill, the lead guide and Panuru Sherpa, an assistant guide.

Jeff Strite
Jeff is a 37 year old building contractor residing in Arlington Va. Hometown is Ridgefield Connecticut, and is a graduate of Bucknell University in 1990. The spring expedition will mark a return to Everest Base camp, which was visited in December of 1995.

Wayne Morris
It all started off by me looking through an Adventure magazine in the UK and coming upon a section on sponsored adventures, including climbing Kilimanjaro, white water rafting, etc… You were expected to raise £2000, of which £1300 paid for the trip and the rest went to charity, in my case Butterwick Children’s Hospice for terminally ill children in the Northeast of England. That was in September 1999 and I enjoyed it so much that I needed more of breathing less Oxygen!! See my 7-summits website for (not so uptodate) information.
After Kilimanjaro the logical progression seemed to be the highest mountain in Europe called Elbrus, then a year later off to Aconcagua, the highest in South America, and finally to Denali (Mt McKinley) in Alaska, North America. The Big E now beckons…

Jose Rionda
Jose works for Wachovia Bank as a Fixed Income trader living in Charlotte, NC. He is originally from Far Hills, NJ. He graduated from Boston College in 1988. He started climbing during college in the White Mtns of New Hampshire. He soon went on to climb state highpoints and has over 20 including Mt Rainier and Mt Hood. He has four of the “seven summits” and several high altitude climbs in Mexico and South America. In 2001 Wayne and Jose met in Russia whilst climbing Elbrus and teamed up with Jeff the following year on Aconcagua.

Mike Hamill (Leader / Guide)

Mike began guiding five years ago and is very passionate about his work. He is a year round professional guide and has traveled and climbed on five continents. When not guiding on Mt. Rainier, where he has over 40 summits, he can be found leading expeditions in Alaska, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, the Himalaya, and throughout the United States, with summits including Aconcagua, Denali, and more recently he has successfully guided Cho-Oyu for the past 2 seasons. Many clients have remarked that Mike’s love for the mountains is contagious. He is a former Division 1 collegiate ski racer and Junior Olympian, has a B.S. from St. Lawrence University, and is a Wilderness First Responder. When not guiding Mike is usually climbing, ski mountaineering, biking, and fly fishing his way around the globe.

Panuru Sherpa (Assistant Guide)

Panuru has been on many IMG expeditions, several times as sirdar, and has summited Everest four times, Cho Oyu five times and Shishapangma one time. He has also been on expeditions to Manaslu, Makalu & Lhotse. Panuru is married and owns a lodge in Phortse.