The members of Team No Limits hail from throughout the United States. None are professional alpinists, but climb purely for the love of the sport. All are experienced mountaineers and have a wealth of experience climbing worldwide. They share a common philosophy of safe climbing and respect for the Nepalese people and culture:
Larry Rigsby, MD. resides in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and is a practicing internal medicine physician in Chattanooga. He has a great interest in high altitude medicine. He is a consultant for Himalayan Inc. and writes a medical series for Everestnews.com. Last year Larry conducted a sleep study on the north, or Tibetan side, of Everest. He has climbed in Alaska in the St. Elias, Chugach and Alaska ranges, including Denali and Moose’s Tooth. He has climbed Rainier and has had multiple winter ascents in Colorado. He has climbed Ama Dablam in the Himalayas and was on an Everest North Col expedition last year.
Doug Tumminello lives in Littleton, Colorado, and is a practicing attorney with a Denver law firm. He is a West Point graduate and served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer. Doug is a multi-faceted climber and excels on rock and ice. Doug has led expeditions to Denali, the highest mountain in North America, and Argentina’s Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Doug has had numerous ascents in the “lower 48” as well. In 2002, Doug’s team on Denali was awarded a “Denali Pro” commendation by the National Park Service for their efforts in assisting a solo climber whose camp was destroyed in a storm. Doug’s other hobbies include telemark skiing, mountain biking and rugby.
Matt Tredway - resides in Steamboat, Colorado. He is the father of two great daughters, and a math and science instructor in the public school system. His love of the outdoors started at an early age, and by the time he was in high school he had climbed many of the Colorado “14ers”. In the early 1980s, Matt served as an instructor for The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) specializing in climbing, backpacking, and winter mountaineering. His NOLS experience carried over into the public schools and in addition to teaching, he founded and is the director of the outdoor education/recreation program, Everything Outdoors Steamboat (EOS). EOS is designed to give kids a chance to discover outdoor skills they can become passionate about, and carry with them throughout their lives. (See EOSteamboat.org for more information.) Rock and ice climbing have led him to extensive trips in Western U.S., Canada, and Alaska (Denali, Summer 2005). Other hobbies include running, skiing, and making equestrian saddles.
CLIMBING SIRDAR
Team No Limits’ Climbing Sirdar (head Sherpa) is the incomparable Apa Sherpa. Apa holds the record for the number ascents of Mt. Everest, at fifteen, and is looking forward to a sixteenth summit with Team No Limits. Apa is from the village of Thame in Nepal, which lies in the higher Everest region. Apa’s climbing career began in 1985 when he worked as a kitchen boy on a climb of Annapurna. Apa first reached the summit of Everest in 1990, and he has climbed with such notable climbers as Anatoli Boukreev, Rob Hall, Pete Athans, Todd Burleson and Peter Hillary. Apa has climbed extensively throughout the Himalayas and his experience on Everest is unmatched. As climbing sirdar, Apa will be responsible for directing the Sherpa members of the climb, who will be fixing ropes, establishing camps, ferrying loads and assisting team members in their summit bids. Team No Limits is proud to have Apa Sherpa, an Everest great, as team sirdar.
BASE CAMP MANAGER
Roger Coffey is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee and is currently on a temporary work assignment in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Roger has taken advantage of being a traveling physical therapist. Having lived and worked in 10 states, he has had the opportunity to backpack and climb in multiple eastern and western national parks, and to log several hundred miles of hiking in the southeastern U.S. When he isn’t walking in the wilderness, Roger can usually be found traveling throughout the United States by motorcycle, a sport that has led to well over 100,000 miles of riding. He is also an avid runner and has enjoyed multiple hobbies including martial arts, photography, and scuba, much of which was discovered during his Army enlistment as a paratrooper.