Favorite mountain athletes?

[mtnhigh358]

Who are your favorite mountain athletes including state/ country and worldwide who inspire you?? what are their accomplishments?

[ekalina]

I don't have a favorite per se but Hilaree Nelson inspires me. She achieved many ski mountaineering firsts, most notably the first ski descent of the Lhotse couloir. Some of her other accomplishments, from her Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaree_Nelson):

First ski descent of Papsura, India, 2017
First female descent of Makalu La Couloir, Nepal, 2015
First to ski all five "Holy Peaks", Mongolian Altai
First female to climb Everest and Lhotse in 24 hours, Nepal, May 25, 2012
Skied from the summit of Cho Oyu, Tibet, September 22, 2005
Skied from the summit of Denali, Messner Couloir, USA, June 16, 2011
First female descent of Bubble Fun Couloir, Tetons, USA
European Women's Extreme Skiing Champion, 1996

She was also captain of the North Face global athletic team, a title bestowed only on one other (Conrad Anker).

She was killed in an avalanche on Manaslu in 2022, a reminder of how dangerous mountaineering can be, even (or perhaps especially?) for those at the top of their game. She touches on her perspective on risk in this documentary (Earthside):


Other interesting articles about her:
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-a ... h-manaslu/
https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2 ... hilaree-ne

The second article talks quite a bit about her romantic/life/climbing partner, Jim Morrison, a world-class mountaineer in his own right who has had to push through more than his fair share of loss, not all of which was mountaineering related.

[seano]

I don't know that either would call himself a "mountain athlete," but Bob Burd and Eric Gilbertson are skilled mountaineers with strong internal motivation rather than fans or sponsors. Brett Maune is/was a legitimately fast guy in the mountains who set quite a few speed records, including Mount Whitney.

[Bale]

Steve House
Lindsey Vonn
Alex Honnold
Tommy Caldwell
Cody Townsend
Alex Lowe
Jeff Lowe
Kilian Jornet is unbelievable.
Will Gadd seems like the nicest badass ever.

But my favorites might be the silent crushers who never make it into the limelight, the local you know is out there but seldom see, whose exploits you hear about in hushed tones.

[Gulf_Coast_Hiker]

My vote is for A2!!

[RestlessLegSyndrome]

There’s too many to count. Locals that tend to fly under the radar are Roger Briggs (has climbed the diamond on Longs about 100 times, including the Yellow wall at 17 years old in 1968), Andy Anderson (Grand Teton round trip time in under 3 hours, and Longs round trip under 2 hours), and Erik Weihenmayer (7 summits, kayaking the Grand Canyon, and climbing the Naked Edge as a blind person)

[DrNoe]

Charley Mace. Pretty much a low key, out of the spotlight mountaineering athlete with a most impressive resume. I like Charley because he is an older guy who still gets after it on 7000 & 8000 meter peaks. Lives in Golden Colorado. Close friend and climbing partner with Erik W. Check out this video to know more about Charley.

Above the Clouds - The Story of Climbing Guide Charley Mace. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18Knfox37J/

[jfm3]

My local favorite is Anton Krupicka. He is a god-tier mountain runner who just this summer set the FKT on the LA Freeway. I am most impressed by his attempt of Nolan's 14 in June 2013. He went north to south and was on the summit of Belford at 13 hours, but called it a day there due to fatigue. His stated goal for that attempt (and his pace through the first 6 peaks) was 30 hours, which is delightfully and absurdly fast. Here is his report: https://blog.ultimatedirection.com/failure/.

[Flips]

My vote is for A2!!

+1

[josephnephi]

I don't know that either would call himself a "mountain athlete," but Bob Burd and Eric Gilbertson are skilled mountaineers with strong internal motivation rather than fans or sponsors. Brett Maune is/was a legitimately fast guy in the mountains who set quite a few speed records, including Mount Whitney.

Bob doesn’t fear California class 4, California class 4 fears Bob.
Some of my inspirations:
My dad (I think I’ve climbed roughly 1/2 of my 13ers with him)
Sean O (2/2 on Robson is crazy)
Bob Burd (Almost everything 12k+ in the sierras)
Teresa (What more needs to be said)
John and Alyson Kirk (King and Queen of peak bagging)
Steven Song (All 58 Canadian Rockies 11ers and other cool stuff)
Alex Walker (Holy Nolan’s FKT, Crushed the Sneffels round, etc.)
Furthermore (13er beta wizard)
And many, many others

[Jorts]

josephnephi - banged out all the SJ 13ers and many more in what? One season?
Alex Henes - comprehensive beta on the 13ers and he skis too

[XterraRob]

Troy Murphy, Morgan Schild, & Alex Ferreira.