Eric has been a professional mountain guide since 1973 and has personally conducted over 100 major expeditions around the globe, including over 30 to the Himalayas. He has become recognized internationally as one of the world's premiere mountaineering expedition leaders, specializing in climbs of Mt. Everest and the other classic 8,000m peaks of the Himalayas. During his 35-year professional career he has spent over 5,000 days of active guiding, and is a Certified Alpine Guide and Ski Mountaineering Guide with the American Mountain Guides Association, for which he served from 1998 to 2002 as a member of the Board of Directors.

Eric's guiding experience in the U.S. includes 280 successful ascents of Mt. Rainier and 17 ascents of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. His international guiding and climbing resume includes expeditions on every continent of the globe, including ascents of the "Seven Summits" and eleven expeditions to Mt. Everest, reaching the summit in 1991 via the North Ridge.

Other adventures have included Peak Communism (Tajikistan), Carstensz Pyramid (Irian Jaya), Cho Oyu (Tibet.), the National Geographic Society 1998 GPS Expedition (remeasuring Everest), and several scientific expeditions including high altitude botanical research on Mt. Kenya, recovering geologic samples from the Patriot Hills in Antarctica, glacial geology and snowline research in the Himalayas, and radiometric surveying in the western USA for the Department of Energy.

Eric is a co-owner and active manager of International Mountain Guides, LLC and directs the company's Himalayan Programs. He co-authored Ghosts of Everest, published by The Mountaineers Books in October 1999, sharing the story of his 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition and recently named as one of the 20th Century's 50 best mountaineering books by the American Alpine Club. He also co-authored Detectives on Everest, published by The Mountaineers Books in July 2002, recapping the 2001 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition which conducted the world's highest archeology project and culminated with the accomplishment of the highest mountaineering rescue in history.

Eric is a native of Washington State, and received a Bachelor's degree in Geology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota followed by a M.S. in Geology from the University of Washington. As a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, he served 2002-2009 on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for International Mountaineering Exploration and Research and the American Alpine Club.

Eric Simonson's International Mountain Guides Trips

• Nepal Trek to Everest Base Camp, Nepal
• Mt. Everest Climb, Nepal
• Cho Oyu Summit Climb, Tibet
• Shishapangma Climb, Tibet
• Ama Dablam Climb, Nepal
• Annapurna IV Climb, Nepal
• Chulu Peak Climb and Annapurna Trek, Nepal
• Lhotse Climb, Nepal
• Lobuche Peak Climb, Nepal
• Bolivia Climbs, Bolivia
• Carstensz Pyramid, Australasia

• Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa
• Mt. Everest, Asia
• Carstensz Pyramid, Australasia