Steve Roper
Encyclopedia
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.
Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award
for 1983.
He is also, with Allen Steck, the recipient of the American Alpine Club's Literary Award (1995).
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of the Sierra Nevada in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He along with Allen Steck
Allen Steck
Allen Steck is an American mountaineer and rock climber, and a native of Oakland, California.-Mountaineering:Steck started climbing with his brother George. In 1940 when Allen was 16, the two completed the first ascent of the northwest ridge of Mount Maclure . He served in the U.S. Navy during...
are the founding editors of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
journal Ascent.
Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award
Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award
The Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award is given by the Sierra Club, and is named after club leader, historian and mountaineer Francis P. Farquhar. According to the Sierra Club, this award "honors an individual's contribution to mountaineering and enhancement of the Club's prestige in this...
for 1983.
He is also, with Allen Steck, the recipient of the American Alpine Club's Literary Award (1995).
Publications
- "A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley" (1964) LCC # 63-21911
- A Climber's Guide to Pinnacles National Monument (1966), ISBN 0-93464-189-7
- "Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley" (1971), ISBN 87156-048-8
- The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra, (1976), ISBN 0-87156-147-6
- Fifty Classic Climbs of North AmericaFifty Classic Climbs of North AmericaFifty Classic Climbs Of North America is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a definitive 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...
, (1979), ISBN 0-87156-292-8 - "Timberline Country: The Sierra High Route" (1982) ISBN 0-87156-298-7
- Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country (1997), ISBN 0-89886-506-9
Notable ascents
- 1959 North Face of Middle Cathedral Rock, Yosemite ValleyYosemite ValleyYosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
, CA (VI 5.9 A4), with Bob KampsBob KampsBob Kamps was an American rock climber whose climbing career spanned five decades. Born in Wisconsin, he began climbing in California in 1955, and was a member of that cadre of Yosemite pioneers who first ascended many of its great walls in the 1950s and 1960s...
and Chuck PrattChuck PrattCharles Marshall Pratt was an American rock climber from California, best known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley...
. - 1963, first free ascent of the Kor-Ingalls RouteKor-Ingalls Route (Castleton Tower)The Kor-Ingalls Route is a traditional rock climbing route located on Castleton Tower. Castleton Tower sits in Castle Valley North-East of Moab, Utah. The Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.- External...
on Castleton TowerCastleton TowerCastleton Tower is a Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot talus cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The Tower is world renowned as a subject for photography and for its classic rock climbing routes, the most famous of which is the Kor-Ingalls Route featured in...
near MoabMoab, UtahMoab is a city in Grand County, in eastern Utah, in the western United States. The population was 4,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Grand County. Moab hosts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks...
, Utah, with Chuck PrattChuck PrattCharles Marshall Pratt was an American rock climber from California, best known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley...
. - 1963 West Buttress, El CapitanEl CapitanEl Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...
, Yosemite ValleyYosemite ValleyYosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. (VI 5.10 A3+) FA with Layton KorLayton KorLayton Kor is an American rock climber active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes include many climbs in Eldorado Canyon, near Boulder, Colorado, The Diamond on Longs Peak, towers in the desert southwest, and Yosemite National...
. - 1963 Third ascent of the El Cap Nose, with Glen Denny and Layton Kor.
- 1966 First one-day ascent of the NW face of Half DomeHalf DomeHalf Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....
, with Jeff Foott. - 1966 Third ascent of the Salathe Wall on El Cap, with Dick Long and Allen Steck.
External links
- The Sierra High Route: A Journey at Timberline, Roper's account of how he forged the Sierra High Route