Steve House
Beyond the Mountain

Thursday, November 5, Noon
Donald Cameron Hall Dining Room
All tickets $20 (includes lunch)

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Called “the best high altitude climber in the world today” by Reinhold Messner, Steve House is an advocate of the fast and light ascent, and embraces an approach to alpine climbing that emphasizes conservation and respect for the environment. House has completed first ascents, established new routes and climbed extensively throughout the Rockies, northern ranges, the Alps and Himalaya. He was nominated for the Piolet d’Or in 2004 for his 41-hour solo ascent of K7, and won in 2006 for a new route on The Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat. As a writer and chronicler of his alpine expeditions, House brings his first book, “Beyond the Mountain” to Banff.

House is also known to Banff Mountain Film Festival audiences for his appearance in the 2006 finalist film Cayesh – The Calling. House has completed first ascents on Denali and other Alaskan peaks including Mt. Foraker and Moose’s Tooth. He finished a grueling 60-hour non-stop ascent of a route on Denali’s south face with Mark Twight and Scott Backes, and has tackled multiple routes on difficult peaks in the Canadian Rockies. House has established new routes on Mt. Alberta, Mt. Robson, North Twin, Howse Peak, and Mt. Fay, among many others. His ascents in the Alps have included north faces on Petite Dru, the Grandes Jorasses, and Cima Grande.

But for him, the accolades and awards are less important than establishing technique, and an approach to alpine climbing that emphasizes conservation and respect for the environment. For his six-day ascent of Nanga Parbat, he and Anderson shared 29 kilograms of equipment, divided into two packs that were light enough to carry through most of the climbing. House has written extensively about paring back on supplies and equipment, to create lightweight expeditions that leave little trace behind.

Originally from eastern Oregon, and a graduate in Ecology from Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington, House has guided independently and with outfitters including Exum Mountain Guides and the American Alpine Institute. He has written extensively about his own mountaineering experience, and has been outspoken about the benefits of lightweight ascents, but maintains a love for the experience, above all. “Mountaineering is too complex to be squeezed into a competition,” he’s said. “It is simply not something that lends itself to comparison. Climbing is about process, not achievement. The moment your mind wanders away from the task of the climbing at hand will be the moment you fail.”

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Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Steve House