Steve House (climber)

Last updated

Steve House (born August 4, 1970) is an American professional alpinist and mountain guide, and winner of the 2006 Piolet d'Or.

Contents

Early life and education

House earned a Bachelor of Science in ecology from The Evergreen State College in 1995. [1]

Climbing career

Alpine climbing

In the autumn of 2008, the spring of 2009, and the spring of 2011 House made three expeditions to Nepal to attempt the West Face of Makalu. [2]

On March 25, 2010, while lead climbing on Mount Temple, Steve fell approximately 25 meters. He broke six ribs in multiple places, collapsed his right lung, fractured his pelvis in two places, and fractured several vertebrae in his spine. Barely a year later and after months of rehabilitation, House set off for the Himalayas to climb Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world. [3] [4]

He is vocal in his support of "alpine style" climbs, which involve moving quickly with little equipment and leaving no gear on the mountain. When, in 2004, the Russian team won the 14th Piolet d'Or for their ascent of the north face of Jannu, he criticized the team for using months to climb the face while setting up fixed ropes, and for leaving 77 ropes and multiple camps behind on the mountain. [5]

Other activities

He has been a fully Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes-certified guide since 1999, and is the seventh American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) guide to complete the certification. [1] He now guides for Skyward Mountaineering and is based in southwest Colorado, in Ridgway, Colorado. He works as an ambassador for the technical outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, where he works with both marketing and product design, development, and testing. He has been a Patagonia ambassador since 1999. [6] In 2015 he co-founded Uphill Athlete with his former coach Scott Johnston.

He started a mountain guiding service co-owned and co-operated by internationally certified (IFMGA) guide Vince Anderson. [7]

Author

His book Beyond the Mountain was the 2009 winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. In 2015 he and Scott Johnston published Training for the New Alpinism and The New Alpinism Training Log.

Notable climbs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First ascent</span> Mountaineering and climbing term

In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent, is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers were focused on reaching the tops of iconic mountains and climbing routes by whatever means possible, often using considerable amounts of aid climbing, or with large expedition style support teams that laid "siege" to the climb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerro Torre</span> Mountain in Southern Patagonia in South America

Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in Argentina and Chile, west of Fitz Roy. The peak is the highest of a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger, Punta Herron, and Cerro Standhardt. The top of the mountain often has a mushroom of rime ice, formed by the constant strong winds, increasing the difficulty of reaching the actual summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fitz Roy</span> Mountain in the Southern Andes; part of the Argentina-Chile border

Monte Fitz Roy is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, near El Chaltén village and Viedma Lake. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone.

Barry Blanchard is one of North America's top alpinists, noted for pushing the standards of highly technical, high-risk alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies and the Himalayas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piolets d'Or</span> International mountaineering award

The Piolets d'Or is an annual mountaineering and alpine climbing award organized by the Groupe de Haute Montagne (GHM), and previously with co-founder Montagnes Magazine, since its founding in 1992. Golden ice axes are presented to the annual winners at a weekend awards festival based on their achievements in the previous year. It is considered mountaineering's highest honor and is referred to as the "Oscars of mountaineering".

Michael Fowler is a British rock climber, ice climber, mountaineer and climbing author. He is internationally noted for his alpine climbing, and was awarded the Piolet d'Or three times, in 2002, 2013, and 2016, for alpine-style first ascents of faces in the Himalayas. Fowler was one of the first British rock climbers to free an E6-graded traditional rock climbing route, and the first ice climber to free a consensus grade VI mixed climbing Scottish winter route.

Vince Anderson is an American professional mountaineer, writer and mountain guide company manager from Ridgway, Colorado. He and Steve House won the Piolet d'Or in 2006 for an alpine-style first ascent of the Central Pillar of the Rupal Face,, September 1–8, 2005 on Nanga Parbat in northern Pakistan.

Rolando Garibotti is an Argentinian and American professional climber, writer, and mountain guide. He is from Bariloche, Argentina. These days he splits his time between the town of El Chaltén, Argentina, and the Dolomites in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torre Egger</span> Mountain in Argentina

Torre Egger is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile, west of Cerro Chalten. The peak is between Cerro Torre, the highest in a four mountain chain and Cerro Stanhardt. It is named after the Austrian alpinist Toni Egger (1926–1959), who died while attempting neighboring Cerro Torre.

Terry "Mugs" Stump was a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active in establishing difficult first ascents in the Alaska Range and the Canadian Rockies. He died from falling into a crevasse while descending the South Buttress of Denali on May 21, 1992, while guiding clients Bob Hoffman and Nelson Max.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marko Prezelj</span> Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (born 1965)

Marko Prezelj is a Slovenian mountaineer and photographer.

Athol Whimp (1961–2012) was a New Zealand mountaineer, rock climber and soldier. Widely regarded as the most accomplished alpinist in New Zealand's modern era, he is the country's only recipient of the prestigious Piolet d'Or award for mountaineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine climbing</span> Type of mountaineering

Alpine climbing is a type of mountaineering that involves using any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes in an alpine environment. While alpine climbing began in the European Alps, it is used to refer to climbing in any remote mountainous area, including in the Himalayas and in Patagonia. The derived term alpine style refers to the fashion of alpine climbing to be in small lightly-equipped teams who carry all of their own equipment, and do all of the climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hervé Barmasse</span>

Hervé Barmasse is an Italian alpinist. He began his career as a mountaineer on his home mountain, the Matterhorn, climbing new routes and repeating various prestigious ones.

Hayden Kennedy was an American rock climber and mountaineer who made difficult ascents in North America, Patagonia and in the Himalaya. He died by suicide in 2017 after the sudden death of his partner. He was the son of renowned writer and mountaineer Michael Kennedy and he won the Piolet d'Or for his ascent of The Ogre in 2013.

Brette Harrington is an American professional rock climber and alpinist based in Lake Tahoe, California and British Columbia, Canada. She was featured in the 2021 film The Alpinist alongside her late partner, Marc-André Leclerc. She is best known for the first free solo of the 760 meter (2,500-foot) Chiaro di Luna (5.11a) in Patagonia, for her development of new alpine climbing routes, and as the star of Brette, a Reel Rock Film Tour short film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Haley</span> American alpinist (born 1984)

Colin Haley is an American alpinist known for fast ascents of technical routes on mountains around the world. Haley is perhaps best known for his traverse of The Torres, first with Rolando Garibotti in 2008, and subsequently with Alex Honnold - this time completing the traverse in under 24 hours.

Aleš Česen is a Slovenian climber, mountaineer, mountain guide and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marek Holeček</span> Czech mountain climber

Marek Holeček is a Czech mountaineer, explorer, author and documentary filmmaker. Holeček has received the 2018 Piolet d'Or award for his successful full ascent on the southwest face of Gasherbrum I with Zdeněk Hák, which he achieved in Alpine style.

Marc-André Leclerc was a Canadian rock climber and alpinist. Known for his solo ascents of numerous mountains in several parts of the world, he completed the first winter solo ascents of the Torre Egger in Patagonia and the Emperor Face of Mount Robson.

References

  1. 1 2 "Steve House IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide". North Cascades Mountain Guides. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  2. "Steve House". Steve House. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  3. "Air Ranger Steve". Skyward Mountaineering. 27 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  4. "Fall Off Mount Temple". Steve House - Training Blog. 5 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. "14th Piolet d'Or". Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. "Patagonia Ambassador Steve House". Patagonia. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. "HOME - Skyward Mountaineering". Skyward Mountaineering. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  8. "Mt McKinley's Slovak Route by Scott Backes". The American Alpine Journal 2001 (American Alpine Journal). American Alpine Club: 48. August 2001. ISBN   0930410890. OL   8360193M.
  9. 1 2 Hollenbaugh, Jeff (2004). John Harlin III (ed.). American Alpine Journal . New York City, New York, USA: American Alpine Club. pp.  201–203. ISBN   0-930410-95-5.
  10. Hollenbaugh, Jeff (1 December 2004). "CHARAKUSA VALLEY". Alpinist. Alpinist Magazine. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
  11. "CAYESH - Alpinist.com". www.alpinist.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  12. "AAC Publications - New Routes On Taulliraju and Other Ascents". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  13. Haley, Colin (29 May 2007). "NEW LINE ON MT. ROBSON BY HOUSE, HALEY". Alpinist. Alpinist Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  14. Bauer, Luke (4 September 2007). "PREZELJ, HOUSE, ANDERSON TICK K7 WEST". Alpinist. Alpinist Magazine. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
  15. Anderson, Vince (1 April 2008). "New House-Anderson Line on Wintry Mt. Alberta". Alpinist. Alpinist Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2008.