Luke Smithwick, The 39-year-old American climber Luke Smithwick tends to fly under the mainstream radar. That’s hard to do that given over the last nine years he’s racked up 69 climbing and skiing expeditions in the Himalaya, with ascents of 75 +  peaks over 6,000 meters, plus the standard route on the north side of Everest and ski descent of Shishapangma (8,027 meters).