the best....the most influential?

[Dane]

I am looking for YOUR personal list of the most influential ice climbers in North America?

[John Frieh]

Make sure you ask them when they were born as well as when they started climbing. I bet you'll see some correlation

[DRep]

-Anyone with the last name of Lowe.

-Jack Tackle

-Jim Earl

-Jojo

-Aaron Mulkey

-Todd Cozzens

-Pat Callis

-Will Gadd

-Guy Lacelle

-Audrey Garepe

[genepires]

yvon. his climbing ice book was a big visual inspiration for ice climbing when I started.

 

JoJo for making the guidebook to my favorite ice climbing destination.

 

 

[JBC]

My list:

 

Yvon Chouinard

Greg Lowe

Guy Lacelle

Vitaly Abalakov

Muggs Stump

 

 

I am an old guy, which has surly surely influenced my list.

 

Jim

Edited December 15, 2010 by JBC

[Jens]

The visiting Millet sponsored frenchman who snuffed out his cigarette under his crampons and then styled up the route that I just bailed off when I was a young lad.

[Raindawg]

H.R.H. BIG LOU!!!

 

No question about it.

 

[pink]

eddie van halen by far

[LowLife]

Gotta throw it out there for Alex Lowe - every time I go to Hyalite I'm amazed at what he accomplished in that canyon alone (with leashes, dammit!). The guy also had just about the best attitude in the history of climbing.

 

Others:

-Pat Callis, and the rest of the Dirty Sox Club (I think Fred gets a nod here too), the old-school Montana guys were tough as nails

-Stan Price, still tearin' it up too, especially in the 'Tooths

-Mark Twight, I still love his writing and his drive

-Barry Blanchard

-Steve House

-Also, Michael Kennedy and George Lowe, I always thought Infinite Spur and Latok I were just unbelievable.

[Chad_A]

Previous generations- George Lowe, Jeff Lowe. Incredible vision in their accomplishments.

 

Current generation- Will Gadd. Always brings the stoke, is humble, and is always forthcoming with info for us "meeker" ice hackers.

 

Local - how can I forget Don Serl?

 

EDIT: unsung heroes - my partners Keith, Nate and Andy which have always been influential to me.

[DPS]

Looks like most people are thinking waterfall climbing. If you include alpine ice climbs then for me Fred Beckey is one of the most influential ice climbers in North America. His climbs of Price Glacier on Shuksan, West Ridge of Hunter and Mt Deborah were done before the 'ice revolution' and are to this day solid ticks. Conrad Kain - imagine chopping steps up the Kain Face of Robson. And personally - Alan Kearney. Watching him climb ice with straight shafted Chouinard X tools (just like mine!) was my first time watching a pro do it.

[kukuzka1]

tomo censen

[G-spotter]

Hamish MacInnes. Older Scottish climbers like WH Murray had shortened ice axes for easier chopping, or even used a slater's pick, but MacInnes was the first to really investigate the properties of the spike.

 

"The Message" was his first ice tool, invented for personal use, with a heavy hammerhead and steel spike, in... yes it was... 1940.

 

Same guy later took the steeply dropped pick and came up with the Terrordactyl.

[G-spotter]

and the other guy: Henri Grivel, 1932. Added frontpoints to the 10-point Eckenstein design.

 

Front points plus ice tools = modern ice climbing as opposed to stepcutting. So thanks to those two visionaries.

 

Next best would be the guys at DMM who put the bend in the shaft of the Predator (instead of the grip) in the 1990s.

 

 

[glassgowkiss]

Guy Lacelle and prof. Slawinski.

 

[layton]

summitchasherBJ

[Vernman23]

summitchasherBJ

 

 

agreed

[Zoran]

tomo censen

 

In North America ...

The most influential Canadian to me, is Don Serl and Greg Lowe for the rest of our Continent.

 

P.S.

Tomo Cesen is Slovenian. Dane, your question is easy. Ask for The Most Influential European ice climber. This would be hard ...

 

 

 

[jmace]

Frank Jourdan is my hero! Must be the most badass under the radar guy around!

[Don_Serl]

I am looking for YOUR personal list of the most influential ice climbers in North America?

 

I'll tip my hat to Rob Wood. The Terrordactyl arrived in Canada in 1972 via British expats, of which there was a hard crew climbing out of Calgary at the time. Rob was in on the first ascent of Bow Falls (3) and Borgeau Right (4) in early 1973. The thought of climbing the latter with the tools and (especially) pro of the day makes me shiver all over! But far more was to come the next season, starting with Lower Weeping Wall Left (4) in Dec'73, then Takakkaw Falls (5) in the stone-cold conditions of Jan'74, just about simultaneously with Jeff Lowe and Mike Weis's more-publicized ascent of Bridalveil Falls. This was topped with Borgeau Left (5) later the same month.

 

Rob moved to Vancouver in 1975 and (as in Calgary) 'fell in with' a group of hard-climbing, hard-drinking Brits, some of whom I climbed (and drank - copiously, I must admit) with. He brought with him a burning enthusiasm for waterfall climbing - you had to see the fire in his eyes to believe it! Maybe more importantly, he brought (and shared) direct experience with gear and technique which was previously altogether absent on the west coast. The immediate result was the first ascent of Entropy at Soo Bluffs, north of Whistler, (at WI3, far easier than the leading Rockies climbs of the day) early in the 75/76 season. The true impact of his influence made itself felt in mid-February, when Garry Brace, John Knight, and I climbed Icy BC (5), armed with woollens, crappy tools, desperate-to-place screws, little experience, and the confidence of naivity. What really got us up the climb was the knowledge, thru Rob, that such things COULD be climbed!

 

Rob moved off the Maurelle Island with Laurie Manson soon thereafter and his ice climbing career came to an end, but he continued to influence young mountaineers for many years thereafter thru his association with Strathcona Lodge. A "hall-of-famer" for sure... Here's to you, lad! Long may you run...

[stevetimetravlr]

Quinn Conig