Meet Dave Nettle • Feb. 28, 2025
Dave Nettle, cofounder of the Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series, and often touted as one of the best storytellers alive, rounds out our 19th annual season with his presentation of “Patagonia: A Climber’s Journey Shaped by Wind and Stone”
When Dave is on stage, he makes you feel as if he is a dear friend hanging out in your living room, sharing stories from his latest adventures. Equal parts humorous, educational, honest, and encouraging, he leaves you with the urge to travel, and the sheer excitement that only adventure can induce.
“Patagonia – A Climber’s Journey Shaped by Wind and Stone”
The wild and remote place called Patagonia is a vast area encompassing the land of Argentina and Chile, between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and below latitude 39 degrees south to the Strait of Magellan. It’s almost completely untouched, with a few small urban centers acting as drop off points to huge expanses of wilderness that contain everything from volcanoes and glaciers to deep fjords and pampas. Even with all this region has to offer, it’s the dramatic towers and walls of granite and ice that dominate Los Glaciares and Torres del Paine National Parks that draw alpinists to this magical place. 
More than a dream
Climbing in Patagonia is an alpine climber’s dream…and curse. When the weather is good the sky is an amazing, brilliant blue, the sun warmed granite is perfect and the long, technical routes are world class. But, it’s also where the wind is regularly so fierce it’s called “the broom of the gods” and violent snowstorms blowing in across the Patagonian Ice Cap appear suddenly and rage for days or even weeks at a time.
Join Dave Nettle as he recounts some of his more memorable, challenging and humorous adventures and ascents from 30 years of climbing in Patagonia, including the iconic spires of Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, Poincenot, the Central Tower of Paine, and a present day expedition to Torres del Paine.
Dave’s Nonprofit Beneficiary: TAMBA
The Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization that builds, maintains, and advocates for multi-use trails in Tahoe while providing education to all trail users and hosting fun community events. TAMBA works in partnership with land managers such as the U.S. Forest Service, Nevada State Parks, California State Parks, and the City of South Lake Tahoe. TAMBA helps maintain more than 100 miles of trail per year.
Meet Dave Nettle
Dave Nettle, cofounder of the Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series, and often touted as one of the best storytellers alive, rounds out our 19th annual season with his presentation of “Patagonia: A Climber’s Journey Shaped by Wind and Stone”
When Dave is on stage, he makes you feel as if he is a dear friend hanging out in your living room, sharing stories from his latest adventures. Equal parts humorous, educational, honest, and encouraging, he leaves you with the urge to travel, and the sheer excitement that only adventure can induce.
About the Winter Speaker Series:
The Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series, presented by the North Tahoe Chamber, is an eagerly anticipated winter tradition for North Tahoe’s adventure community. With over 3,000 attendees annually, as well as a dynamic and global live stream component, the 19-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series has become one of the premier North American forums for adventure storytelling and community gathering.
The Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series blends two goals: 1) to inspire and motivate mountain athletes to pursue their own outdoor dreams and 2) to educate about, and raise funds for, non-profit organizations making a tangible difference in the North Lake Tahoe and Truckee community.
Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation, inspiration and education. Past speakers of the Winter Speaker Series include Lynn Hill, Hilaree Nelson, Jeremy Jones, Emily Harrington, Cody Townsend, Alex Honnold, Adrian Ballinger, and more. The series runs from December through March at the Olympic Village Events Center at Palisades Tahoe. Every show is FREE to the public and all ages are encouraged to attend.
Each show is dedicated to a different non-profit that has been selected through a rigorous application process, and to date, the Winter Speaker Series has raised nearly $2,000,000 for local organizations. Giveaway and bar proceeds, in conjunction with anonymous donations by the Donor Party, raise up to $75,000 per show for a local non-profit organization.
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