Past president and legendary expedition leader Nick Clinch has passed away today at the age of 85. Beyond Clinch's important role in the history of American mountaineering, his devotion to the AAC helped the Club thrive over the 62 years of his membership. He was a driving force behind the Club's library and Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch.

“Nick certainly contributed much to climbing in America. He was a brilliant expedition leader and a wonderful diplomat. But I think most of his contributions were behind the scenes,” said CEO Phil Powers. “He was always there with the counsel to get us through the hard decisions. I have benefitted from knowing a number of the great men on whose shoulders we stand as climbers today—but I’ll miss none more than Nick.”

Nick, thank you for everything you did for the Club and climbing.

Read more about Nick's many accomplishments: http://bit.ly/24RSeqH

American Alpine Club past president Nicholas Bayard Clinch (b. 1930) passed away today, June 15, 2016 in Palo Alto, California.

Clinch is regarded as one of America's most successful expedition leaders. He is the only American to have led the first ascent of an 8,000 meter peak: Hidden Peak (Gasherbrum I, 26,470 feet) in 1958. He also led the first ascent of the notorious and beautiful Masherbrum (25,660 feet) in 1960 and Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, along with the other major summits of the Vinson Massif in 1966. Clinch Peak (15,883 ft) was named in his honor in 2006.

Clinch’s account of the 1958 Hidden Peak expedition was published as the book A Walk in the Sky in 1982. Nick also published Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia with his wife Elizabeth Clinch in 2011.

His explorations have included numerous ascents in the United States, the British Columbia Coast Range, Peru and China. He also introduced the ice screw into North American climbing usage. For his extraordinary services to mountaineering Clinch was made a Fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in 1969 and later elected to Honorary Membership in The Alpine Club [London]. In 2013 he was inducted into the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence for both his achievements on and off the mountain by the American Mountaineering Museum. He is an honorary member of the American Alpine Club and has received the Heilprin Award for service to the Club and the rarely granted President’s Gold Medal—twice.

Beyond Clinch's important role in the history of American mountaineering, his devotion to the AAC helped the Club thrive over the 62 years of his membership. Nick served as Club president from 1968 to 1970 and afterwards he served one term (1971-1973) as treasurer. He has been instrumental in the growth of the AAC Library, and a major contributor to the Central Asia collection. In 1971 Nick worked tirelessly with Leigh Ortenberg and NPS Director Horace Albright to establish the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch.

He was a student of climbing history and a prolific book collector with, as he often said, “the discrimination of a vacuum cleaner,” according to AAC CEO Phil Powers. His collection resides at the American Alpine Club Library in Golden, Colorado.

“Nick certainly contributed much to climbing in America. He was a brilliant expedition leader and a wonderful diplomat. But I think most of his contributions were behind the scenes,” said Powers. “He was always there with the counsel to get us through the hard decisions. I have benefitted from knowing a number of the great men on whose shoulders we stand as climbers today—but I’ll miss none more than Nick.”

Between expeditions and playing a strong and ongoing leadership role in support of AAC, Clinch was a long-time Executive Director of the Sierra Club Foundation and an early board member at REI.

January 1, 2016, Golden, CO—American Alpine Club President Douglas Walker died Thursday, December 31, 2015 in an avalanche on Granite Mountain in the Cascades. Doug Walker, 64, of Seattle, went missing Thursday afternoon while hiking with friends. Details surrounding the accident are still being learned.

“Doug Walker's leadership at the AAC was the secret weapon that cemented the Club as one that welcomes and represents all climbers. He led the capital campaign that funded our growth and stepped from that directly into leading our board with strength and grace," said Phil Powers Chief Executive Officer of the American Alpine Club and and long-time colleague of Walker. “He was not only a mentor and adviser for me; he was a climbing partner and friend."

Doug was a climber for more than 40 years. Doug has a serious commitment to conservation of mountain landscapes and promotion of the climbing way of life. In his professional life he co-founded and managed a mid-sized world-wide software company for 25 years. Doug served as a Director of REI for 12 years and was Chair of REI from 2005–2008. As an REI Director, he played an important role in addressing the “fixed anchor" crisis in 1998. 

In addition to serving as President of the American Alpine Club, Doug was a chairman of the Wilderness Society, a director of the Conservation Lands Foundation and was an Advisory Council Member for the National Parks Conservation Association and the Land Trust Alliance. In his spare time, Doug volunteered as a climbing instructor for the YMCA's BOLD program. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Doug Walker Fund through the American Alpine Club: www.americanalpineclub.org/donate.