The first Australian to climb Everest (1984) and the first person in the world to climb from sea level to the summit of Everest without external support (1990).
PROFILES
Climbers
Profiles of climbers and mountaineering figures from many countries — complete with official links to their sites, blogs, and social media.
66 climbers worldwide
Ueli Steck Switzerland Speed-record breaker in the Alps and Himalaya; soloed the south face of Annapurna in 28 hours without ropes (2013). Nicknamed the 'Swiss Machine'.
Climbed all fourteen eight-thousanders and the first person to summit the 16 highest points on Earth.
Walter Bonatti Italy A key player in the 1954 Italian K2 expedition; soloed a new route on the North Face of the Matterhorn in winter (1965) — then retired immediately at age 35 as the greatest alpinist of his generation.
Wanda Rutkiewicz Poland The first Polish woman and the third woman to reach the summit of Everest (1978); she climbed 8 of the 14 eight-thousanders before disappearing on Kanchenjunga (1992).
Wang Fuzhou China Together with Qu Yinhua and Gongbu, became one of the first Chinese to climb Everest via the north side (25 May 1960).
A master of alpine-style climbing; his ascent of the 'Shining Wall' on the west face of Gasherbrum IV (1985) is recognized as one of the most impressive climbs of the 20th century — recipient of the 2016 Piolet d'Or Carrière.
Wolfgang Güllich Germany The first person to climb a route graded 9a in the world — Action Directe, Frankenjura, Germany (1991) — and the inventor of the campus board training technique.
The first person to ski down Mount Everest (1970) and the oldest person to reach the summit of Everest, at age 80 (2013).
Alex Honnold United States Free soloed El Capitan (Yosemite) without ropes — subject of the documentary film 'Free Solo'.
Nirmal 'Nims' Purja Nepal Climbed all fourteen 8,000 m peaks in six months (Project Possible).
Kilian Jornet Spain Holder of skyrunning speed records and a fast ascent of Everest; ultra-trail champion.
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Austria First woman to complete all fourteen 8,000 m peaks without supplemental oxygen.
Tommy Caldwell United States First free ascent of the 'Dawn Wall' on El Capitan, Yosemite.
Junko Tabei Japan First woman to reach the summit of Everest (1975) and to complete the Seven Summits.
Tenzing Norgay Nepal Together with Edmund Hillary, the first people to reach the summit of Everest (1953).
Edmund Hillary New Zealand Together with Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the summit of Everest (1953).
Indonesian climber recorded as reaching the summit of Everest (1996).