It all started in Washington, D.C. in 1966. I spent my formative years in the Washington area except for living in Nepal from the ages of two to four. I started climbing as a young child with my father on the east coast and in Wyoming and have been climbing ever since. I began work with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides in 1986 and worked as a guide through 1993. My climbing and guiding has taken me throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Antarctic.
In 1994 I was part of the Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition (SEE). Four out of five climbers reached the summit of Mt. Everest, and in the process, retrieved over 5,000 pounds of trash from the mountain through the use of an economic incentive program. I became the first American legacy to stand on the rooftop of the world, by following in my father’s footsteps, Barry Bishop, who summited Everest in 1963 with the first American Expedition. SEE showed that a small team, on a shoestring budget, could climb successfully as well as make an environmental impact. The team was presented with the David Brower Award for environmental achievement by the American Alpine Club for its innovative approach to reclamation. The 1994 trip was so successful from an environmental standpoint, that I returned in 1995 and, using the same economic incentive model, retrieved another 4,500 pounds of trash from Mt. Everest. In the process, I climbed Lhotse (8,501m), becoming the fourth American to stand on Everest’s neighbor. I returned again to Everest in 1996 to run the clean up project again - another 5,600 pounds of trash were removed. The effort was continued again in 1997, '98, and '99. Over 25,000 pounds of trash have been removed by SEE in ‘94 ‘95, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, and '99.
In September of 1997 I led the Nike Karakoram Cleanup Expedition to the Boltoro region of Pakistan with the goal of establishing the first Porter Training Institute and to climb two virgin peaks. The Porter training Institute was amazingly successful; 251 porters received training in first aid, environmental issues, altitude illness, crevasse rescue, safety, hygiene, and government regulations. The expedition also removed 2,400 pounds of garbage from base camps on the Boltoro glacier. Climbing goals on this expedition were thwarted due to poor weather conditions.
The cleanup effort was continued in 1998 and 1999, with the removal of 18,300 pounds of garbage from the Boltoro glacie and over 500 porters trained.
Recently I joined the 2002 National Geographic Mt. Everest Expedition as one of the climbers featured for their upcoming documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt. Everest.
In 2003, the Explorers Club presented the Lowell Thomas Medal to me for exploration.
I received an undergraduate degree in economic from Duke University in 1988, and both a Masters in Business Administration and Environmental Management from the University of Washington in 1993. I currently reside in Seattle WA and Bozeman, MT, where I own a Mountaineering Store, Barrel Mountaineering (named in honor of my father).