Climber
Fort Collins, CO
Age: 36

A registered nurse and avid climber, Siegfried "Ziggy" Emme, 36, of Fort Collins, Colorado, joined the expedition after he and Ginger Russell met Alzner during a climb on Denali in 1998. Emme grew up in Pasadena, California, where he still has family, and has been climbing for 18 years. He spent a year as a guide for the American Alpine Institute, and before that had his own guiding service for four years in Charleston, South Carolina. There he would take clients to well-known Southern cliffs such as Looking Glass near Brevard, North Carolina.

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Several years ago, he decided to become a nurse, and has since found work in a nurse placement service that allows him to rotate through various hospitals, in departments such as medical/surgery and telemetry. He has been married, enjoys playing chess, and he also spent 16 years in the military — including nine years of active duty as a Navy staff sergeant handling explosives ordinance disposal at the now-closed Charleston Naval Base.