Denali (also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level.
June 3rd, 2010
Matt's summit of Denali marked the beginning of the 50 states expedition where Matt and his team climbed the highest peak in all fifty states within the timeframe of 50 days. The expedition was ultimately completed in a record 43 days, 3 hours, and 51 minutes.
Matt Embarked on this expedition to raise awareness for a rare disease that afflicts his best friend, pulminary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Cerro Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft), and by extension the highest point in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Mendoza Province of Argentina.
December 16th, 2008
The team started on December 5th with tests and pulling permits in Mendoza, Argentina. Georgia. They began climbing on December 9th starting with a series of acclimatization climbs on neighboring peaks, including Cerro Bonete, and summited on December 16th.
Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia, and the tenth most prominent peak in the world. A dormant volcano, Elbrus is in the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia, near the border with Georgia. Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes.
June 6th, 2008
The team took off from Boulder, Colorado on May 28, 2008 and headed to the base of Mount Elbrus located on the border of the Russian Federation and Georgia. Our trip took us through London, Moscow to land at Mineralnye Vody and then a four hour overland journey through the Baskan River Valley flanked by the Caucasus Mountains.
Climbing began on June 1st starting with a series of acclimatization climbs and ski descents and summited on June 6th.
Mount Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, "Kibo", "Mawenzi", and "Shira", is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa, about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) from its base to 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level.
Matt, his dad Mike, his mother Dee, and his sister Kaylee all climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro together. Kaylee then became the youngest woman to reach the summit.
June 20, 2008
After summitting Mt. Elbrus, the team traveled back to London on June 10th and met up with Dee Monize and Matt's twin sister Kaylee to fly to Nairobi, Kenya with a short connecting flight to Kilimanjaro. There they met the Tusker Trail team to begin our climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Vinson Massif is the largest mountain massif in Antarctica. It lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains and overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from the South Pole.
Not yet summitted
Also called Puncak Jaya, this peak is the highest on the continent of Australia at a height of 16,024ft. Located on the island of New Guinea, Carstensz Pyramid is the highest island peak in the world.
Not yet summitted
Located in the Himalayas on the border of China and Tibet, Mt. Everest is considered the tallest mountain on Earth with a height of 29,029ft. Matt and his team have planned to conquer Everest on several occasions but their attempts have been thwarted for various reasons. Read more below.
May 20, 2018
Matt's first attempt was part of the Triple 8 Expedition and was cut short after an ice avalanche swept through the Khumbu Icefall killing 16 sherpas. Angered by the Nepalese government's handling of the situation and frusterated by the meager compensation they recieved for their dangerous work, all remaining sherpas went on strike. Out of respect for the sherpas that lost their lives, Matt and his team chose to attempt Everest on a future occasion.
The second attempt was also cancelled after an earthquake triggred an avalanche through Everest base camp. Matt took cover behind a boulder as a 200 mph powder blast hit the camp. At least 22 people were killed and many injured. Moniz immediately began helping the wounded and with other rescue efforts.
For his actions Matt recieved the Boy Scouts of America's highest award for lifesaving – The Honor Medal with Crossed Palms
This time for a third summit attempt, with new sponsors and a cutting-edge opportunity to expand the horizon of science. Matt and his fellow climber, Willie Benegas, in cooperation with The Mason Lab participated as lead subjects in the Everest Twin Study. Modeled after the Mason Lab’s recent ground-breaking NASA Twin Study, Matt and Willie collected blood samples to compare with their respective twin siblings to research how they genomically adapt to their near space mission.
After spending almost an hour waiting for the sun at the Hillary Step, Matt and Willie started their final push towards the top of the world and summitted Mt. Everest not long after.
The goal of the 50-50-50 expedition was to summit the highest peak in all fifty states within 50 days. Matt embarked on this expedition the raise money and awareness for a disease that afflicts one of his best friends, Pulminary Arterial Hypertension.
The Expedition began at the summit of Denali in Alask on June 3rd, 2010 and came to a close a mere 43 days, 3 hours, and 51 minutes later on July 16th. This record breaking time gained Matt a lot of press and serveral TV interviews that Matt used to further the fight against PHT.
After a pit stop in New York City to speak at the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit, the team flew down to Florida where they tackled Britton Hill, the lowest high point of the 50 states.
The team is climbing Ranier via the Ingraham Direct route and ascended 5,000 feet today and camped tonight at Camp Muir (10,500 feet.) The weather is being a bit tricky. They are going to leave for a summit attempt tomorrow at 2:00 am.
The team left Camp Muir this morning at 12:00 am and finally had to cry uncle at about 8:30 am - less than 1,000 feet from the summit. The weather on Ranier this spring/summer has been a difficult and this morning the winds had picked and the snow was flying.
Kings Peak was a difficult climb. The hike started as a a 28 mile round trip which ended up being 30 miles due to high rushing rivers. The team considered taking it in two days, but really needed a day to recover post Ranier and Hood. So the climb started at the crack of 11:00 pm at night. Summit was 10:30 am and finished at 6:00 pm. That's over a marathaon of hiking in the time span of an ultra-marathon. The team is resting in Pinedale, WY today with plans to tackle Gannett Peak at the crack of dawn on Thursday.
You would know the same shortness of breath after walking a few steps, the same fatigue, dizziness and throbbing neck veins that your friend lives with every day, symptoms of a destructive disease that currently has no cure.
Beginning on July 10, 2009, Matthew Moniz and a core team of five climbers did just that. The team climbed fourteen of Colorado’s famed 14,000 foot peaks, commonly known as the “14ers”, in a short fourteen days. The journey covered a total of 36,846 vertical feet across 65 miles all to raise awareness and money for Ian Hess who suffers from Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH).
The expedition was a huge success, raising many thousands of dollars for Ian's treatment. However, treatment is ongoing and your donation can still make a difference in Ian's life!