Author and award-winning photojournalist Michael Kodas will make an audio-visual presentation entitled “High Crimes – The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed” to the Appalachian Mountain Club on Wednesday, January 14. The presentation will be held at Christ and Holy Trinity Church, 75 Church Lane, Westport. Wine and cheese will be from 6.15 pm followed by dinner at 7.00 pm. and the presentation at 8.00 pm.
Michael will describe his experiences on a 2004 Everest expedition which revealed many of the problems of Everest mountaineering today and which formed the basis for his highly praised book “High Crimes – The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed.” In an effort to reach the world’s highest summit, wealthy but sometimes poorly trained climbers often pay huge fees to be taken to the high altitude “Death Zone” by expedition leaders more interested in making money than in the welfare of their clients. On his own expedition to Everest Michael found avarice, theft, drugs, missing equipment and much more.
In 25 years as a photojournalist, reporter and author, Michael has traveled everywhere from Everest to the Oval Office. Many of his stories and photos fall into the category of adventure journalism but Michael believes that no story has value unless it deals with important issues or has a significant underlying message. Amongst many subjects, he has written about Vietnam veterans returning to Vietnam to help remove mines; hiking the Appalachian Trail; the slave ship Amistad; fire fighting in the Rockies; and the role of women in high altitude mountaineering.
In addition to the Hartford Courant, where he has worked for many years, Michael’s work has been published in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, Backpacker, and many other newspapers and magazines.
In 1999 Michael was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize. His work has also been honored in the Best of Photojournalism contest, the Pictures of the Year competition, and in competitions held by the National Press Photographers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and many other organizations.
Both AMC members and non-members are welcome to attend. The cost is $8 for members and $10 for non-members. Participants are asked to bring along a dessert to share if they can. For more information contact Eleanor Sasso at 203-762-0216 or email eassasso@optonline.net. For more information on Michael Kodas, please refer to his web-site at www.michaelkodas.com
Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is America’s oldest conservation and recreation organization. With almost 100,000 members including almost 10,000 in Connecticut it is the largest outdoor club in the Northeast.
