In Memoriam

These pages celebrate the lives of amazing climbers who have passed on. Some are famous superstars of the sport; others were known only to their family and friends. But all had an impact. Read their stories here, and remember lives filled with passion.
  • Herb Conn

    Herb Conn Dies at 91

    Climbing pioneer Herb Conn passed away in his home near Custer, South Dakota, on February 1, at the age of 91.

  • Prominent Norwegian Alpinists Die in Accident

    Prominent Norwegian climbers Bjorn-Eivind Artun, 45, and Stein-Ivar Gravdal, 37, died while attempting a new ice route on the big wall of Kjerag, Lyesbotn, in southwest Norway.

  • Pioneer, Legend Harvey T. Carter Dies

    Harvey Carter--climbing icon and legend--passed away Tuesday, March 13, at the age of 83. With a climbing career lasting more than 60 years, Carter pioneered and discovered many of the well-known climbing areas in the four-corners area, including the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and is rumored to have made over 5,000 first ascents.

  • Alaskan Alpine Club Founder Dies

    Doug Buchanan was filled with hospitality, humor, wit, intelligence, incredible drive, insight, and honor. His last adventure was a fight with cancer.

  • Everest Pioneer Nawang Gombu Dies at 79

    Everest Pioneer Nawang Gombu Dies at 79

    4/25/11 - Nawang Gombu Sherpa, who accompanied Jim Whittaker to the summit during the first American ascent of Mt. Everest, in 1963, died at home in India on April 24.

  • Kurt Albert Dead at 56

    9/29/10 - Kurt Albert died on September 28 as the result of injuries from a fall on a via ferrata route in Germany three days earlier.

  • Chloe Graftiaux Dies in the Alps

    Chloe Graftiaux Dies in the Alps

    8/23/10 - On Saturday, August 21, Belgian climber Chloe Graftiaux died after falling from the South Face of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey in the Mont Blanc.

  • Guy Lacelle Killed in Avalanche

    Guy Lacelle Killed in Avalanche

    Canadian ice climber Guy Lacelle died in an avalanche in Hyalite Canyon, Montana, while climbing a snow gully between climbs.

  • Charlie Houston Dies at 96

    Charlie Houston Dies at 96

    Charles Houston, a pioneering American climber and altitude researcher, died at his home in Vermont on September 27. He was 96.

  • Craig Luebben Killed in North Cascades

    Craig Luebben Killed in North Cascades

    Craig Luebben, the well-known Colorado climber, guide, teacher, and author, was killed early Sunday morning when glacial ice collapsed on Mt. Torment in North Cascades National Park.

  • John Bachar 1957-2009

    7/06/09 - On July 5, the climbing world lost one of its greatest icons: John Bachar. While climbing alone at the Dike Wall near Mammoth Lakes, California, Bachar fell to the ground, though the circumstances of the fall remain unclear.

  • John Pilla 1946-2009

    John Pilla was the owner and operator of Mountains Unlimited in Waterbury, Connecticut. He passed away unexpectedly on April 9th, 2008 while rock climbing when he suffered a heart attack after completing a tough 5.9+ near Plymouth, Connecticut.