Boone Speed (born August 29, 1965) is an American photographer and figure within the sport of
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
. The only son of Western sculptor Ulysess
Grant Speed
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
*Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
*Grant, Inyo County, C ...
(January 6, 1930 – October 1, 2011), Boone was raised outside of
Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU).
Provo lies between the ...
, and studied
Graphic Design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
.
Climbing career
Boone began climbing in the summer of 1985 near
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah. By the spring of 1987 Boone had climbed the most challenging routes in the region, and began traveling to explore new crags in other undeveloped areas, including the sandstone of
Red Rocks
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind th ...
, outside of
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
American Fork Canyon
American Fork Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, United States. The canyon is famous for the Timpanogos Cave National Monument, which resides on its south side. It is named after the American Fork River, which runs through the b ...
,
Virgin River Gorge
The Virgin River Gorge, located between St. George, Utah, and Beaver Dam, Arizona, is a long canyon that has been carved out by the Virgin River in northwest Arizona. The Virgin River rises on the Colorado Plateau and created the topography of b ...
and
Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon is in the western United States in northeastern Utah, a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. It is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hikin ...
, Utah, where Boone became the first American to climb the grade of 5.14b with his first ascent of "Super Tweak" in 1994.
Boone has been on the cover of
Climbing Magazine
''Climbing'' is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of ''Urban Climber Magazine''. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine t ...
twice and has had published writing and photography in climbing, lifestyle and travel magazines worldwide.
Timeline
* 1988 Began developing American Fork's Hell Cave is home to many 1990's era test pieces including Speed's Power Junkie (5.14a) and his hardest route, "Ice Cream" (5.14c)
* 1989 began to develop the
Virgin River Gorge
The Virgin River Gorge, located between St. George, Utah, and Beaver Dam, Arizona, is a long canyon that has been carved out by the Virgin River in northwest Arizona. The Virgin River rises on the Colorado Plateau and created the topography of b ...
, where Boone established the demanding classics "Fall Of Man" 5.13b (1990) and "Route of all Evil" 5.14a (1994)
* In August 1991, Boone was
Climbing Magazine
''Climbing'' is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of ''Urban Climber Magazine''. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine t ...
's cover feature and American Fork Canyon Climbing was its cover story, establishing
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
as a destination climbing area as well as an influence on the "limestone revolution" in America
* 1990 Boone was featured in the video "Masters Of Stone" on Dead Souls (5.13d) and Burning (5.13b) in American Fork's "Hell Cave"
* 1990 began to develop
Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon is in the western United States in northeastern Utah, a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. It is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hikin ...
, where Boone became the first American to successfully establish a consensus 5.14b route, "Super Tweak" in 1994
* 1991 began employment as designer at
Black Diamond Equipment
Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports, based in Utah, United States. The company also has a global office in Innsbruck, Austria. The company is owned by Clarus Corporation, which also o ...
* 1994 First ascent of Super Tweak featured in the video "Masters Of Stone 3"
* 1995 Discovered
Joe's Valley
Joe's Valley is a large concentration of sandstone boulders east of the Joe's Valley Reservoir near Orangeville, Utah. Joe's is a popular destination for bouldering
Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock format ...
for bouldering (on tip from
Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...
) and established first
problems
A problem is a difficulty which may be resolved by problem solving.
Problem(s) or The Problem may also refer to:
People
* Problem (rapper), (born 1985) American rapper Books
* Problems (Aristotle), ''Problems'' (Aristotle), an Aristotelian (or ps ...
there
* 1995 Original partner of innovative climbing company Pusher where Boone became an influential handhold and training board shaper
* 1996 Pictured on cover of
Climbing magazine
''Climbing'' is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of ''Urban Climber Magazine''. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine t ...
(for second time) and feature article entitled "Boone Speed Tells All"
* 1997 met
Chris Sharma
Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...
at base of "Necessary Evil" and established ongoing friendship
* 1997 climbed first ascent of "Ice Cream"
5.14c becoming one of the first 10 climbers in the world to climb the grade
* 1997–1999 Employed by
Fila
Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...
as a climbing shoe designer and climbing market authenticator
* 1999–2001 Employed as creative director and photographer for Pusher
* 2001–2007 worked as freelance designer and photographer for Bluewater Ropes an
Entre Prises Climbing Walls* 2005 Featured Photographer at Taos Mountain Film Festival
* 2009 Photography show at
Nau popup in New York
* 2011 PDN's "The Shot" Grand Prize winner
* 2013 Photographed Chris Sharma and Daila Ojeda for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
The Magazine "The Body Issue"
* 2014 Represented America as climbing Legend at The North Face's Kalymnos Climbing Festival
* 2015 "Frightening Nature" film accepted into Cannes Short Film Corner (Director of Photography)
Filmography
* "Masters of Stone" (1990)
* "Masters of Stone 3" (1994)
* "Yank on This" (1995)
* "Three Weeks and a Day" (1996)
* "Best Forgotten Art" (1996)
* "Fast Twitch" (1997)
* "Movement" (1998)
* "Free Hueco" (1998)
* "Frequent Flyers" (2001)
* "Best of the West" (2004)
* "Big Game" (2004)
* "King Lines" (2007)
* "Perfecto" (2007)
* "Heraklia" (2008)
* "Running From Crazy" (2012)
* "Project American Fork"
(2013)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speed, Boone
1965 births
Artists from Provo, Utah
Travel photographers
Sports photographers
American rock climbers
Photographers from Oregon
Living people
Artists from Portland, Oregon
Shoe designers