John D All

John All is an American geoscientist and climate researcher whose work focuses on mountain environments, resource management, and the impacts of climate change on high-altitude communities. In 2014, he survived a 70-foot plunge through a Himalayan crevasse while conducting field-based research. He has held academic and research positions at universities in the United States, South America, and Asia, and has led scientific expeditions on five continents to examine climate change and use of resources.

Background Dr. All completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University. He received his Juris Doctor and a Master's Certificate in Environmental Ethics from the University of Georgia. He then pursued a PhD at the University of Arizona where he focused on Water Policy and Colorado River Law.

According to his personal biography, All worked as a program officer for a Climate Change and Human Health Initiative of the United Nations for six years. He has taught at Rutgers University, the University of Arizona, Tribhuvan University in Nepal, and Western Kentucky University. Following his accident on Mt Himlung, he has taught at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru, and then Western Washington University, where he founded and led the Mountain Environments Research Institute in 2017.

He was a member of the IUCN Mountain Specialist Protected Areas Network and sat on the Geology and Geography Committee for the American Association for the Advancement of Science for many years. He is the co-founder and executive director of the American Climber Science Program (ACSP), a program that "brings together scientists, conservationists, students, and climbers to conduct research and engage in conservation activities in remote and mountain environments of the world."

On April 18, 2014, All's team was one of the groups hit with an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall. 16 Nepali climbers were killed, and one of the climbers on the team was lost. After this tragedy, the team extended their expedition to Mt. Himlung near Annapurna to continue collecting data. After his fall, he spent several hours trying to get himself out moving only a few inches with every climb. All while this was happening, he documented this on his Sony Cyber-shot HX7 camera which he later uploaded to YouTube and became viral for.

Mountain Environments Research Institute (MERI) In 2017, John All founded the Mountain Environments Research Institute (MERI) at Western Washington University where he served as the founding director. MERI was created to integrate field-based scientific research, education, and conservation efforts for sensitive regions. It aims to develop a community of researchers that are trained to experience on-site research and pass their knowledge down through generations. MERI's faculty represent a wide range of disciplines. Early programming included coursework and field projects that focused on research in alpine regions across Washington and the Andes in Peru.