A passion-project of AAC Past President Jim McCarthy and Tom Hornbein—themselves mountaineering legends by any standard—the American Alpine Club’s Legacy Series pays tribute to the visionary climbers who made the sport what it is today and stands as a commitment to securing their legacies.
The Legacy Series was born from interviews taken for the Vision Inspiration Project, a large-scale effort to document the oral history of American climbing. Working with filmmakers Jim Aikman, Pete Takeda, and Graham Zimmerman, McCarthy and Hornbein as well as Project Manager Ellen Lapham identified and interviewed climbing’s most historic and fabled names, from Yvon Chouinard to Fred Beckey, Glen Dawson to Irene Beardsley. Through intimate, long-form interviews recorded in the subject's homes, the Vision Inspiration Project explores climbing careers, philosophies, and thoughts on the future of the sport. Many of the Project’s subjects have since passed away, demonstrating the profound importance of capturing these stories while we still can. In total, the 10+ year project collected over 70 recorded interviews to be preserved in the American Alpine Club’s Library for future generations to enjoy.
Presented here, the Legacy Series features nine short films and four podcasts adapted from Vision Inspiration Project interviews: Joanne and Jorge Urioste, Jack Tackle, Jim Whittaker, Glen Denny, Allen Steck, Betsy White, John Gill, Tom Hornbein, Jim McCarthy, Arlene Blum, Yvon Chouinard, Irene Beardsley, and Steve House.
Legacy Series Installments
Tom Frost, Living and Photographing the Golden Age of Yosemite
Tom Frost was one of the leading climbers of his generation, making important first ascents on El Cap, like the North America Wall and Salathé Wall. He was a world-class alpinist and one of the photographers who crafted a visual record of the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing, capturing imagery that would define a generation of climbers.
In this interview with Tom Frost on the AAC Podcast, we cover how he fell in with Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt, Yvon Chouinard, and others; stories from his historic climbs; and how much he loved bivvying on the big walls of El Cap. Dive in to hear all this and more from this legend of climbing!
George Lowe, World Class Climber
Few Americans have had a climbing career anything like George Lowe’s. From first winter ascents of the Tetons’ highest peaks in the 1960s, Lowe moved on to cutting-edge climbs in Canada and Alaska in the 1970s, including the north faces of Mt. Alberta and North Twin in the Rockies and the Infinite Spur of Mt. Foraker in the Alaska Range. In the early ’80s, he was instrumental in the first ascent of the extremely difficult Kangshung Face of Everest. Explore Lowe’s climbing career in the new film.
The Uriostes, the Origins of Red Rock's Classics
Jorge Urioste was a priest from Chile. Joanne had strong-headed ideals, and was determined to be independent—pitting herself against death-defying situations through climbing in order to prove it. They were climbing together constantly, and then one thing led to another, and they were kissing in a bivy cave in the Gunks. Their marriage and lifelong commitment to climbing would produce some of the most notable multi-pitch classics of Red Rock, including Epinephrine, Prince of Darkness, and Levitation 29, among many others. They broke a lot of climbing's rules at the time—including bolting, but also publishing a guidebook on the "sandstone junk" that others perceived Red Rock climbing to be. This is their story, a long overdue tribute to their legacy in climbing.
Jack Tackle, First Ascents in the Alaska Range
Jack Tackle was a van dweller before he became a climber, but on that first day, he was hooked. He loved the anarchy of the small fringe activity that was climbing, and he would go on to channel that anarchy into proud first ascents, including FA's on Waddington as well as throughout the Alaska Range. Dive into this film to hear Tackle's reflections on his mountain life, his first ascents, and what motivated him to keep pushing his technical edge.
Arlene Blum
Arlene Blum led the groundbreaking first American and first all-female ascent of Annapurna in 1978. Despite dangerous avalanches and tumultuous conditions, the team was determined to prove that “A Woman’s Place is On Top.” And though they surely did, this groundbreaking ascent is also laced with tragedy. In this installment of the AAC’s Legacy Series, Arlene reflects on the triumphs and tragedy of their ‘78 ascent of Annapurna.
Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy’s name is deeply etched into the background of climbing history. His influence shaped the birth of modern ice climbing, and he helped save Camp 4 from being shut down in the 1990s. Thanks to Jim’s vision, he, Royal Robbins, and Layton Kor would export big wall climbing tactics to international big walls, as they did on their 1963 ascent of Proboscis. In this installment of the AAC’s Legacy Series, Jim McCarthy reflects on these elements of his climbing career, and more.
Tom Hornbein
Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld 1963 ascent of the West Ridge of Everest has been described as “one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in the history of mountaineering… among the grandest adventures imaginable,'‘ by Jon Krakauer. More importantly, their ascent ushered in the modern era of mountaineering, where ascents are made fast and light, focusing more on the intrinsic value of the route than the summit itself.
John Gill
John Gill is widely considered the father of modern bouldering and the individual responsible for introducing gymnastic chalk as well as dynamic movement to the sport of climbing. Being a gymnast, Gill began to specialize in short, difficult climbing routes in the mid-1950’s, pushing the boundary of what the human body was capable of achieving on rock holds. He emphasized aesthetic form and grace of motion over simple efficiency in climbing, challenging many popular norms held in the sport at the time. Gill climbed V8 in 1957, V9 in 1959, and onsight free-soloed 5.12a in 1961, all this achieved without the benefit of modern climbing shoes. While not the first individual to climb on boulders, certainly, he was the first to popularize the idea as a pursuit worthy in itself. In 1969, Gill published The Art of Bouldering in the American Alpine Journal.
Betsy White
Betsy White started climbing in 1955 at 17 years-old and has since traveled and climbed in over 60 countries, from the Americas to the Middle East, Europe to Africa, and beyond. She and her husband Gene explored the Pakistani ranges widely, having been stationed there in the 1960’s by the Peace Corps. In 1980, the only woman on a self-funded expedition to Makalu on the Nepal-Tibet border, White spearheaded a historic high-alpine rescue when a fellow climber fell ill with cerebral edema at 22,000ft.
Allen Steck
Widely-decorated climbing legend Allen Steck began his career in Yosemite Valley in 1947, learning to establish routes using pitons and trial-and-error practices. Over an illustrious career that extending some 70 years, Steck established first ascents in mountain ranges around the world including participating in the first major American mountaineering expedition to the Himalaya, attempting Makalu in Nepal in 1954. His 1965 ascent of Mount Logan’s Hummingbird Ridge in the St. Elias Range, AK has never been repeated and is considered among the most challenging climbs in the mountaineering history. In 1979, with co-author Steve Roper, Steck published the seminal Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. His memoir, A Mountaineer’s Life, was published by Patagonia in 2017.
Glen Denny
An iconic climber and photographer of Yosemite’s Golden Age, Glen Denny documented the ascents and debauchery of Camp 4’s visionary dirtbags during the late 1950s through the 1960s. His work is documented in two volumes, Valley Walls: A Memoir of Climbing and Living in Yosemite and Yosemite in the Sixties. You can view more of his work in the accompanying slideshow and purchase prints at his online gallery.
Legacy Series Podcasts
Jim Whittaker
In 1963, Jim Whittaker stood on top of the highest mountain in the world, becoming the first American to summit Everest. Since then, he has brought the company REI to international prominence, and seen climbing change dramatically—including having his son Leif Whittaker call him from the top of Everest, a possibility Whittaker had never dreamed of. In this episode, Whittaker reminisces about wearing wet leather boots for 3 weeks on his expedition to Everest (and still keeping his toes), reflects on how ice axes could splinter in your hands back in the day, and how really, the best climbing tools are your own hands, feet, and brain. Dive into this episode to hear this climbing legend's insights into the way climbing history informs our present.
Steve House
In this episode of the AAC Legacy Series, alpinist Steve House recounts his traumatic fall on Mount Temple, a fall that pulverized several of his ribs, fractured his back, and punctured a lung. Thanks to rescue efforts, Steve was able to narrowly escape death, but such a close call led Steve to think about the need to reprioritize contributing to his community and building meaningful relationships. Despite dramatic injuries, Steve would go on to climb Makalu less than a year later.
Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is a well-known figure in climbing history, especially known for his innovative gear developments for the sport, like the ice axe and crampons, and his founding of Patagonia, one of the leading brands in the outdoor industry. Yvon’s stories reveal the early years of vision and dedication that shaped climbing as it is today, and ridiculous tales of the true dirtbag ways. In this episode, Yvon shares tales of eating expired cat food, selling pitons out of the back of his car, and shiver bivvies where his partners insulated their coats with crumpled pages of a novel.
Irene Beardsley
On a 1961 expedition to Makulu, Edmund Hillary forbade Irene Beardsley to step foot on the mountain, despite her impressive mountaineering resume, including ascents in the Tetons and Peru. But Irene was hungry for summits, regardless of being relegated to the “wives camp.” She knew a woman’s place was on top. This hunger would drive her to be part of the first American, and all-women’s, expedition to summit Annapurna I.
Banner image: AAC member Glen Denny