AWESOME ADVENTURES

UNCOMMON EXPERIENCES

ELLIOTT BOSTON

Elliott Boston III is originally from Newport Beach, CA.  He was inspired to start climbing by the movie “K2” and the book The Seven Summits.  He started with a rock-climbing class and then spent every other weekend rock-climbing.  Since 1992, Boston has summited peaks in southern California, Europe, Canada, Australia, and North and South America. 

Each mountain offers a new challenge, whether it be stormy weather, sunburn at 0 degree Fahrenheit, ice, snow, or vertiginous cliffs.  Boston's experience is different every time.

Boston recalled his first successful summit of Mount Aconcagua, "I was suffering from dysentery.  I was alone.  But when I finally reached the summit, I cried like a baby."

​Pioneer Climbing

Steven Shobe, Elliott Boston III, and Philip Henderson are a team of African American men determined to be the first group of African Americans to climb the highest summits on all seven continents, including:

1.    Mount Aconcagua (22,830 feet) in Argentina
2.    Denali (20,320 feet) in Alaska
3.    Mount Elbrus (18,510 feet) in Russia
4.    Mount Everest (29,028 feet) in Nepal
5.    Mount Kilimanjaro (19,334 feet) in Tanzania
6.    Mount Kosciusko (7,310 feet) in Australia
7.    Mount Vinson Massif (16,050 feet) in Antarctica

The name of their team is Pioneer Climbing Expedition (PCE).  Thus far, they have climbed Mount Aconcagua (February, 2002), Mount Elbrus (August, 2003), Mount Kosciusko (March, 2008), Denali, and Mount Kilimanjaro (February, 2008). 

After each achievement, Pioneer Climbing holds clinics at local schools, trying to turn disenfranchised urban youth onto rock-climbing, mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking, rafting, and canoeing.  PCE's goal is to “awaken minorities to the many types of nontraditional outdoor sports.”

Boston is a stockbroker.   In his free time, he enjoys mountain climbing, Brazilian jiujitsu, trail running, and mountain bike riding.

How to Get Started

In an interview with Black Enterprise magazine, Boston, Stephen Shobe, and Dr. Jean Ellis talked about how to get started with mountain climbing: (1) get into shape; (2) take a class on covering terrain and balance; and (3) do your research.  They recommended Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Tales from the Steep by John Long, or Climbing Adventures: A Climber's Passion by Jim Bridwell.