Steve Roper

Last updated
Steve Roper
Personal information
Main discipline Rock climbing
Born1941 (age 8283)
NationalityAmerican

Steve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal Ascent.

Contents

Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award for 1983. [1] He is also, with Allen Steck, the recipient of the American Alpine Club's Literary Award (1995).

Publications

Publications as editor

Notable ascents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Capitan</span> Vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park

El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet (914 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing, including the disciplines of aid climbing, free climbing, and more recently for free solo climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Clyde</span> American mountain climber (1885–1972)

Norman Clyde was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self-trained naturalist. He is well known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada and Montana's Glacier National Park. He also set a speed climbing record on California's Mount Shasta in 1923. The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley has 1467 articles written by Clyde in its archives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Harding (climber)</span> American rock climber (1924–2002)

Warren Harding was one of the most accomplished and influential American big wall climbers and aid climbers of the 1950s to 1970s. He was the leader of the first team to climb El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, in 1958. The route they climbed, known as The Nose, ascends 2,900 feet (880 m) up the central buttress of what is one of the largest granite monoliths in the world. Harding made many first ascents in Yosemite, some 28 in all, including The Wall of Early Morning Light.

<i>Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome</i> Multi-pitch climbing route in Yosemite, US

The Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was the first Grade VI big wall climbing route in the United States. It was first climbed in 1957 by a team consisting of Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas. Its current aid climbing rating is VI 5.9 A1 or 5.12 for the free climbing variation. It is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Salathé</span> Swiss-born American pioneering rock climber, blacksmith and inventor

John Salathé was a Swiss-born American pioneering rock climber, blacksmith, and the inventor of the modern steel piton. In his later years he promoted Christian spiritualism and vegetarianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Higgins (rock climber)</span> American rock climber (1944–2018)

Thomas John Higgins was an American rock climber with many first and first free ascents primarily in the western United States. He was noted for pushing standards using a purist, free climbing style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layton Kor</span> American rock climber

Layton Kor was an American rock climber active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes included many climbs in Eldorado Canyon, near Boulder, Colorado, The Diamond on Longs Peak, towers in the desert southwest, and Yosemite National Park, among other locations. Notable among his first ascents is the Kor-Ingalls Route on Castleton Tower and The Finger of Fate Route up the Fisher Towers' Titan; both routes are recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.

<i>Fifty Classic Climbs of North America</i> 1979 non-fiction book

Fifty Classic Climbs of North America is a 1979 climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark Kroese's Fifty Favorite Climbs. Though much of the book's contents are now out of date, it is still recognized as a definitive text which goes beyond the traditional guidebook.

<i>The Nose</i> (El Capitan) Multi-pitch climbing route in Yosemite, US

The Nose is a big wall climbing route up El Capitan. Once considered impossible to climb, El Capitan is now the standard for big wall climbing. It is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.

<i>Salathé Wall</i> Technical climbing route up El Capitan

The Salathé Wall is one of the original big wall climbing routes up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot (900 m) high granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. The Salathé Wall was named by Yvon Chouinard in honor of John Salathé, a pioneer of rock climbing in Yosemite. The route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and is considered a classic around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Face (Mount Whitney)</span>

The East Face of Mount Whitney is a technical alpine rock climbing route and is featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

The South Face of Charlotte Dome is a technical alpine rock climbing route. It is featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Chris Jones, a member of the first ascent party, wrote that "in Yosemite, the climb would be recognized as one of the best in the Valley. In the backcountry it will probably remain unknown."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost Arrow Spire</span> Detached pillar in Yosemite

Lost Arrow Spire is a detached pillar in Yosemite National Park, in Yosemite Valley, California, located immediately adjacent to Upper Yosemite Falls. The structure includes the Lost Arrow Spire Chimney route which is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The spire is the location for a dramatic Tyrolean traverse, which has since become an iconic slackline.

<i>Royal Arches Route</i> Mountain climbing route on the Royal Arches wall in Yosemite Valley, California

The Royal Arches Route is a big wall climbing route in California's Yosemite Valley on the Royal Arches wall. The route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The route was first climbed Oct. 1936 by Ken Adam, Morgan Harris, K. Kenneth Davis. The route is moderate in difficulty and is frequently climbed. The first 4 pitches are along a west-facing dihedral. At Pitch 5, the route turns north and ascends the main face along crack systems. Pitch 10 can be free climbed at 5.10b however, most climbers use a fixed rope to pendulum to a long ledge. At the end of Pitch 15, begins the bolted rappel route. It is 18 rappels to the Valley floor. Some climbers prefer to continue to "The Jungle" at the end of Pitch 16. Beyond The Jungle is a 5.4 slab and 4th Class scrambling to the Valley Rim. The descent is usually accomplished by traversing northeast to Washington Column and descending the exposed North Dome Gully.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Eichorn</span> American mountaineer, environmentalist and music teacher

Jules Marquard Eichorn was an American mountaineer, environmentalist, and music teacher.

Allen Parker Steck was an American mountaineer and rock climber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert L. M. Underhill</span> American mountaineer

Robert Lindley Murray Underhill was an American mountaineer best known for introducing modern Alpine style rope and belaying techniques to the U.S. climbing community in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Croft (climber)</span> Canadian rock climber and mountaineer

Peter Croft is a Canadian rock climber and mountaineer. He has concentrated much of his rock climbing career on big routes in Yosemite National Park, Squamish, British Columbia as well as the High Sierra. He received The American Alpine Club’s Robert & Miriam Underhill Award in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Frost</span> American rock climber (1936–2018)

Thomas "Tom" M. Frost was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a photographer and climbing equipment manufacturer. Frost was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Oakdale, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Pratt</span> American rock climber (1939–2000)

Charles Marshall Pratt was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a long-time climbing instructor and mountain guide with Exum Mountain Guides in the Grand Tetons.

References

  1. "Sierra Club Awards - List by Award" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.
  2. Jones, Chris (1976). Climbing in North America. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press. pp.  273–274. ISBN   0-520-02976-3.
  3. Roper, Steve; Steck, Allen (1979). Fifty Classic Climbs of North America . San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. p. 219. ISBN   0-87156-292-8.
  4. Kor, Layton (1964). "El Capitan's West Buttress". American Alpine Journal. 22 (53). New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club: 79. ASIN   B000FLCQEM.