Few Americans have had a climbing career anything like George Lowe’s. And we’re not the only ones who think so: The Piolets d’Or selected Lowe for their 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. 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. At age 79, George is still at it—climbing and skiing at a high level—and in this film he shares his thoughts about his long and illustrious climbing career and the humility and companionship it takes to survive and excel in the mountains.

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.