Mountaineer's Life

Tales of the Trail from a Living Legend, The Slim Fox Sixteen-year-old Allen Steck made his initial climb, a first ascent of Mount Maclure in the Sierras, with no hardware, no ropes, no experience. But the event turned his into a mountaineer’s life. Over 70 years later, Steck, also known as The Slim Fox, has had a prolific climbing career, including a 1954 expedition to Makalu, a 1963 first ascent of the south face of the Clyde Minaret, and a 1965 first ascent of the Hummingbird Ridge on Mount Logan. In 1967, with Steve Roper, he co-founded and edited Ascent magazine. Two years later, his interest in the far reaches of the world led him to partner in Mountain Travel, America’s first true adventure travel company. These are stories from the days when mountain climbing was discovery, when men like Steck forged new routes, both literal or literary. With dry humor and detailed recall, he captures the excitement and intrigue of a time when there were few rules and no guidelines. As he says, “We do not deceive ourselves that we are engaging in an activity that is anything but debilitating, dangerous, euphoric, kinesthetic, expensive, frivolously essential, economically useless and totally without redeeming social significance. One should not probe for deeper meanings.”  With amazing photographs, many published for the first time, this memoir is a treasure, an inspiration, and an anchor to the foundation of the life-changing sport of alpine climbing.

Allen Steck, born in 1926, is an American mountaineer and rock climber. He has climbed around the world, with a number of first ascents, including the Steck-Salalthe Route up Sentinal Rock in Yosemite Valley, and Hummingbird Ridge in Alaska. Jointly with Norman Clyde, he was the first recipient of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award in 1970. Also in 1970, he won th eAmerican Alpine Club's Literary Award for co-authoring Fifty Classic Climbs of North America with Steve Roper.

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.[1] He is also, with Allen Steck, the recipient of the American Alpine Club's Literary Award (1995).