Steve House
Encyclopedia
Steve House is an American
professional climber and mountain guide from La Grande
, Oregon
.
in ecology
from The Evergreen State College
in 1995. 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. House has guided for Exum Mountain Guides
, the American Alpine Institute, and North Cascades Mountain Guides. He now guides independently and is based in southwest Colorado, near Ridgway, Colorado. His primary work is 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.
He has been called by Reinhold Messner
"the best high-altitude climber in the world today."
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. He is currently recovering from his injuries and training for new climbs.
" climbs, which involve travelling quickly with little gear, 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 behind on the mountain.
His book Beyond the Mountain was the 2009 winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional climber and mountain guide from La Grande
La Grande, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,833.5 people per square mile . There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,260.3 per square mile...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Biography
House earned a Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
from The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is an accredited public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. It is located in Olympia, Washington, USA. Founded in 1967, Evergreen was formed to be an experimental and non-traditional college...
in 1995. He has been a fully Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes
UIAGM
The Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes is the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, known alternatively by its French, German and English abbreviations:...
-certified guide since 1999, and is the seventh American Mountain Guides Association
American Mountain Guides Association
The ‘’’American Mountain Guides Association’’’ is “our nation’s sole representative to the 21-member International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations , the international governing body responsible for guiding standards and education around the world.” AMGA is a non-profit organization that...
(AMGA) guide to complete the certification. House has guided for Exum Mountain Guides
Exum Mountain Guides
The Exum Mountain Guides is a mountain guide service based in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The guide service was founded in the 1926 by Paul Petzoldt and Glenn Exum, for whom the Exum Ridge climbing route on the Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park is named...
, the American Alpine Institute, and North Cascades Mountain Guides. He now guides independently and is based in southwest Colorado, near Ridgway, Colorado. His primary work is as an ambassador for the technical outdoor clothing company, Patagonia
Patagonia (clothing)
Patagonia, Inc. is a Ventura, California-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental movements. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1972....
, where he works with both marketing and product design, development, and testing. He has been a Patagonia ambassador since 1999.
He has been called by Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
"the best high-altitude climber in the world today."
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. He is currently recovering from his injuries and training for new climbs.
Alpine climbing
He is vocal in his support of "alpine styleAlpine style
Alpine style refers to mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain which can be accessed at one's leisure...
" climbs, which involve travelling quickly with little gear, and leaving no gear on the mountain. When, in 2004, the Russian team won the 14th Piolet d'Or
Piolet d'Or
The Piolet d'Or is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991...
for their ascent of the north face of Jannu
Jannu
Jannu or Kumbhakarna is the 32nd highest mountain in the world. It is an important Western outlier of Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak. Jannu is a large and steep peak in its own right, and has numerous challenging climbing routes.The official name of this peak is Kumbhakarna, but the...
, he criticized the team for using months to climb the face while setting up fixed ropes, and for leaving 77 ropes behind on the mountain.
His book Beyond the Mountain was the 2009 winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature is an annual prize of £3000 awarded by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust to an author or authors for 'an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature.' It was established in memory of Peter Boardman and Joe...
.
Notable climbs
- 2000: Slovak Direct, Mount McKinleyMount McKinleyMount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...
, Alaska RangeAlaska RangeThe Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
with Mark TwightMark TwightBorn on November 2nd, 1961 in Yosemite National Park, California, Mark Twight rose to prominence in the world Alpine mountaineering community in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a well-documented series of difficult, dangerous alpine climbs in various ranges around the world.-Climbing:He made...
and Scott BackesScott BackesScott Backes is an American mountaineer. Backes has been called "one of the leading alpine mountain climbers in the United States".He was born in 1956 and has lived most of his life in Minnesota. He started climbing in 1975. His climbing style is light and fast, in an Alpine style...
, a fast climb in 60 Hours. - 2003 The Talkeetna Standard, Eye Tooth, Alaska RangeAlaska RangeThe Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, USA; FA V 5.9 WI5 1000m with Jeff Hollenbaugh - 2003 Roberts-Rowell-Ward Route, Mt. Dickey, Alaska Range, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, USA; second ascent VI 5.9 A2 1675m with Jeff Hollenbaugh - 2004 Southwest Face, K7, Charakusa Valley, KarakorumKarakorumKarakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(second ascent of the mountain, first ascent of route) (VI 5.10a M6 A2 80 degrees, 2400m), solo. For this ascent he won the People's Award for the 14th Piolet d'Or. - 2005 Central Pillar of the Rupal Face, (4100m, M5 X, 5.9, WI4), September 1–8, on Nanga ParbatNanga ParbatNanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters...
in northern Pakistan with Vince AndersonVince AndersonVince 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...
. Completed in a little over a week (a very short period of time in comparison with many large alpine climbs), the climb won him and Anderson the Piolet d'OrPiolet d'OrThe Piolet d'Or is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991...
. Steve House's account was published in Alpinist Magazine-Issue 16, in which he describes the ascent as the culmination of "years of a physical and psychological journey." - 2007 House-Haley (WI5 M7 1750m), Emperor Face, Mount RobsonMount RobsonMount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. It is commonly thought to be the...
(3956m), Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada. FA of route with Colin Haley, May 25–27, 2007. - 2007 K7 West (6858m), Charakusa Valley, KarakorumKarakorumKarakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...
, Pakistan FA of peak with Vince AndersonVince AndersonVince 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...
and Marko PrezeljMarko PrezeljMarko Prezelj is a Slovenian mountaineer and photographer.Prezelj received two Piolet d'Or awards. He won the inaugural "Oscar of mountaineering" in 1992 with Andrej Štremfelj for their new route on the south ridge of Kangchenjunga South in alpine style...
. - 2008 House-Anderson (WI5+ M8 R/X, 1000m), North Face, Mount AlbertaMount AlbertaMount Alberta is a mountain located in the upper Athabasca River Valley of Jasper National Park, Canada. J. Norman Collie named the mountain in 1898 after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.Mount Alberta is the sixth highest peak of the Canadian Rockies...
(3619m), Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada. FA of route with Vince AndersonVince AndersonVince 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...
, March 26–28, 2008