Talus Sponsors Ascent on the Legendary Himalayan Peak K2

Missoula, MT—May 23, 2008—Talus Outdoor Technologies is the official protective facemask provider for a medically focused nine-man expedition team attempting to climb the legendary peak K2 this summer.

The team is scheduled to arrive at K2’s base camp in the Himalayas in June and summit the historic mountain in early August. Throughout the climb, expert mountaineer, anesthesiologist and newest Talus athlete Eric Meyer M.D. will be testing Talus’ ColdAvenger™ cold weather mask in some of the world’s most daunting conditions.

During the climb, which reaches higher than 28,000 feet above sea level, Meyers and the team of climbers will test how the body is affected by extreme cold and lack of oxygen. In conjunction with this expedition, Talus will supply Eric and the entire team of climbers with its signature ColdAvenger™ mask. The mask’s functionality and comfort will be tested during daily high-altitude climbs, and nighttime camping in frigid conditions.

“While climbing, we will be monitoring how the mask helps warm the air during high respiratory rate and how it helps the humidity of the dry air that is experienced at high altitudes,” says Meyers when discussing the use of the Talus mask. “The more you breathe to keep your oxygen up the drier the airway becomes causing increased coughing and chance of infection.”

The Talus ColdAvenger™ mask, is designed to allow its users to “Stay Out Longer” ™ by raising the temperature of air breathed in through the mask by 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than outside temperatures while providing humidity needed for proper respiratory function. The ColdAvenger™ mask has technical features that can help prevent cold weather trauma effects on the respiratory system that are a result of prolonged cold weather activities.

The team preparing to summit K2, which has only seen 15 Americans ever reach the top, includes; Americans Eric Meyer, Expedition Leader Mike Farris, Tim Horvath, Chris Klinke and Ryan Waters; Australian climbers Chris Warner, Paul Walters; Swedish mountaineer Fredrik Strang and Nepal native Chhiring Dorje. This decorated team of climbers has a combined total of 16 summits of the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest. Chhiring Dorje has scaled Everest nine times, three of which were in 2007.

K2 is located in the Himalayan mountain range on the border of Pakistan and China. Although K2 is fewer than 800 feet lower than the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest, K2 is widely considered a much more difficult and technical climb. Oxygen is rarely used by climbers on K2 and there is considered no easy route to the summit. As stated before, this has resulted in only 15 American climbers reaching the summit of this great mountain in the last 70 years. Additionally, the K2 climb has only been completed an estimated 280 times compared to the nearly 2,600 people who have ascended Mount Everest.

Founded and headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Talus Outdoor Technologies™ is a leading innovator in technologically-advanced outdoor gear. Talus is dedicated to helping outdoor enthusiasts Stay Out Longer.™ In 2007, Talus introduced the ColdAvenger,™ an advanced, high-qulaity cold weather protection mask developed by a physician and a skier. The ColdAvenger™ is the result of more than two years of research and development testing in Northern Rocky Mountain winters to achieve four functional goals: thermal comfort, ventilation adequacy, moisture control and ease of breathing during exercise. Talus is proud to provide an elite product while being socially and environmentally conscious.

www.talusoutdoortech.com