Climber
Salt Lake City, UT

A journalist and climber, Heilprin of Salt Lake City, Utah, is combining his passions for climbing, journalism, travel and politics. He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, took courses from the National Outdoor Leadership School and climbed and skied in the Rockies while getting a B.A. in history from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His dreams of guiding led him to his first career as a year-round mountaineering instructor for the Denver-based Colorado Outward Bound School. He has climbed rock and alpine routes and traveled throughout the U.S., including the Alaska Range, French Alps and Nepal's Everest region.

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Heilprin is currently a national staff writer for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Previously he had written for newspapers in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Utah, most recently covering federal politics for The Salt Lake Tribune. He also has played drums in the pop bands Glass Bottom Bus and the Ramblin' Beach Guys. He is excited to return to the Himalaya for the summer, writing and sleeping under the stars and trying to climb at least partway up K2. He calls it "a tossup" when asked to rank the challenges of reporting objectively on a high-profile expedition as a member, staying healthy at altitude or trying to climb at least partway up K2.