Damien is a contributing editor of the American Alpine Journal, he has worked for the prestigious Pilot d'Or, he has led a team that was following the footsteps of Robert Falcon Scott, he is author of several books and an avid Antarctica explorer who is combining his aptitude for vanquishing virgin peaks with science as he measures their elevation.
Together with some researchers Damien notes that some study “has led to the remarkable situation where it is possible that no one has stood on the true highest point of all the 8,000-meter peaks.” Through meticulous analysis of summit photos, satellite imagery the researchers contend that merely half of the mountaineers claiming a summit of Annapurna (8,091 meters) had reached the highest point, and almost all climbers on Manaslu (8,163 meters) had not topped out on the summit.
“The summit is the summit, but climbing is more than summits.” Damien Gildea