The Scoop on Matt Moniz
Matt Moniz might not be a household name (yet), but he should be. At 20 years old, he already has more awards and accomplishments than most people even set goals on for their whole lives… and he is just getting started.
Matt has been climbing for most of his life and had an intense love for mountains. His first big mountaineering trip was at the age of 9 with his dad – they climbed to Everest Base Camp. After that he conquered Kilimanjaro (with his twin sister, Kaylee), Elbrus and Aconcagua. At the age of 12, Matt set 2 more records – fastest time for summiting the high points in all 50 of the United States (with his father, Mike) and youngest person to summit all of those high points. Between then (2010) and now (2018), he has climbed numerous other peaks.
What makes Matt even more remarkable is his love for the earth, its preservation and its people. That is what drives most Scouts, right? Climbing mountains isn’t just about conquering crazy goals and landmarks for him. Climbing mountains is how he connects to our planet and helps its people. Part of the reason that he really fell in love with climbing was because of his best friend Iain who has Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Matt related climbing and the feeling of difficulty breathing at high altitudes to what Iain deals with on a daily basis. In fact, in 2009 Matt climbed 14 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in 8 days in order to raise money to research and combat the disease in honor of Iain.
Fast-forward a few years to 2015. Matt was on his first attempt to climb Mt. Everest when the Gorkha earthquake hit (magnitude of 7.8). Matt and his fellow climbers survived by jumping behind a boulder when the avalanche hit and the first thing that he did was jump into action to help fellow climbers and the people of Nepal. His climbing team devised a plan to raise money and hire local porters to bring aid to the devastated villages, which at the same time helped boost the shattered economy.
Now Matt has officially succeeded on his third attempt to climb the world’s tallest mountain. This time he got to go back as a Scouting America Adventure Ambassador. If you didn’t follow his journey, head over to Instagram and follow @boyscoutsofamerica where we have posted all kinds of crazy videos and photos from his trek. It has been nothing short of inspiring to see the work that went into summiting that 29,029-foot peak. He even carried up a flag to honor the Seventh Fleet of the US Navy!
After checking out his latest update, it got us to thinking about our favorite adventures. Are you like Matt, totally in love with the snow and mountains? Or are you seeking your adventures in a warmer climate by rafting rivers or fishing in the flatlands? Why do you get outside? We would love to hear! Use the hashtag #WeOwnAdventure and tag @boyscoutsofamerica and you might be featured next.
