Leader of Mallory & Irvine Expedition Weds
Monday, Jan. 3, 2000

	Simonson

Eric Simonson, leader and driving force behind the Spring 1999 Mallory & Irvine Expedition, married the expedition manager, Erin Copland, in Napili, Maui, Hawaii, on New Year's Eve. Simonson, a veteran of more than 20 Himalayan expeditions, stunned the world May 2 when his expedition discovered the body of George Mallory, the British climber who disappeared during a 1924 attempt on Mount Everest.

"We chartered a sailboat and were married in bare feet by 'Captain Bill' off the coast of Maui at sunset on December 31," Simonson said, this time not by sat phone but by regular old land line. "Then we came back to shore and had a great party. About 15,000 people came to our reception that evening on Ka'anapali Beach, and they shot off a ton of fireworks for us at midnight!"

— Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff