The Chicago Mountaineering Club is thrilled to announce that Cedar Wright will be our 80th speaker at the 2020 Annual Dinner. Cedar Wright is a Professional Climber and Filmmaker living in Boulder Colorado. As a member of The North Face Team, Cedar has traveled the world establishing adventurous and daring first ascents, often documenting these exploits through his writing and cinematography. His filmography includes portions in Reel Rock 2016 and 2018.
Cedar is an amazing speaker that will hold your attention and have you asking for more!
Climber and filmmaker Cedar Wright has traveled the world establishing adventurous first ascents and documenting his exploits through his writing and cinematography. A National Geographic Explorer and a contributing editor at Climbing magazine, Cedar founded the popular Sufferfest franchise, which he stars in alongside his good friend Alex Honnold. Known for his wacky (and often masochistic) sense of humor and infectious passion for adventure, Cedar continues to push what’s possible in climbing and filmmaking, all while never taking himself too seriously and caring for two miniature dogs, Gus and Bernie.
While studying English and creative writing at college in Northern California, Cedar fell in love with rock climbing, and soon after graduation, he moved into his truck. He split his time between Yosemite and Joshua Tree, making speed ascents on El Capitan and first ascents on the Sentinel. He remains one of the few people to have freed El Capitan in a day. For more than five years, Cedar served on the legendary Yosemite Search and Rescue Team. The climber has also pioneered new alpine rock routes in places like Pakistan, British Columbia and Alaska. More recently, the paragliding pilot took flight from 18,490-foot Pico de Orizaba, the third highest mountain in North America.
A self-taught photographer and cinematographer, Cedar first shot with his dad's old DSLR camera for his school's newspaper. Wright's big break came after filming a unique, human-powered adventure with Honnold in which the pair climbed all of California's 14,000-foot peaks, biked more than 700 miles, hiked at least 100 miles, and climbed over 100,000 vertical feet (often while free soloing). The film toured with Banff Mountain Film Fest and Mountainfilm and since then, he’s been capturing and logging entertaining adventures. Wright's next release features a lifelong dream realized: a recent expedition with The North Face to Antarctica.
Accomplishments:
- 5.13 First Ascents in Yosemite and Indian Creek
- “Free in a Day” ascent of El Capitan
- Big Wall First Ascents on all 7 continents