Allen Steck

[3] In 1949, he climbed in the Alps, completing the first ascent by an American of the Comici route on the north face of the Cima Grande in the Dolomites together with his Austrian friend Karl Lugmayer.

[5] Steck described the climb in an article originally published in the Sierra Club Bulletin in 1951: "The ascent of this wall was probably the toughest that either of us had ever made, or ever hoped to make again.

Though John has 51 years to my 24, the climb seemed to have little effect on his endurance; only toward the end of the third day, did he seem to show signs of wear, but then both of us were ready to acknowledge the pleasures of simple back country hiking.

They attempted the southeast ridge but were turned back at 7,100 m (23,300 ft) by a constant barrage of storms, as well as food shortages and lack of bottled oxygen.

[9] On August 6, 1965, he completed the first ascent of Hummingbird Ridge on Mount Logan (19,850 feet (6,050 m)) in the St. Elias Range located on the border between the Yukon and Alaska, a climb that took 35 days.

In July, 1970, Steck and Doug Robinson completed the first ascent of the "Doors of Perception" route on North Palisade rated III 5.8, described as "the most striking feature on the northeast face of the mountain" and "one of the most aesthetic lines in the Sierra.

"[12] His 75th birthday was marked by meeting up with a large group of friends at Red Rocks, climbing classics like the Crimson Crysalis, Lotta Balls and the chimneys of Epinephrine.

[16] In 1995, he won the American Alpine Club's Literary Award for co-authoring Fifty Classic Climbs of North America with Steve Roper.