Chad Kellogg (September 22, 1971 – February 14, 2014) was an American

mountain climber Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...

, best known for his numerous

speed climbing Speed climbing is a climbing discipline in which speed is the ultimate goal. Speed climbing is done on rocks, walls and poles and is only recommended for highly skilled and experienced climbers. Competition speed climbing, which takes place on a ...

records and

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

s. He died by a falling rock after climbing

Fitz Roy Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.Omak, Washington Omak ( #merriam, Merriam (1997), p. 869) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanagan Highland, Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington (state), Washington, United States. With an estimated 4,845 residents as of 2010, distributed ov ...

in 1971. His parents, Ric and Peggy Kellogg, were

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

, and as a result his family moved to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

for seven years before returning to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to settle in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1989 when he was 17 and graduated with a degree in economics. He trained with the U.S. national

luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...

team for seven years in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

, but gave up the sport after failing to qualify for the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Mountaineering

Kellogg began climbing in 1984 in the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Cascad ...

but it was not until he left the national luge team that he began to pursue mountaineering as a career. He worked as a climbing ranger in

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...

in 1997–1998 and later ran a Seattle-based construction business to support his climbs. He became well known in the climbing community in 1998 as he began to break records for speed ascents.

Speed climbing

In 1998 Kellogg became the first person to climb and descend

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

in under five hours. He repeated the feat in 2004 when he ran from

Paradise, Washington Paradise is the name of an area at approximately on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington (state), Washington, United States. Southeast of Seattle, the area lies on the border of Pierce County, Washington, ...

to the summit and back in 4 hours, 59 minutes. His record for the fastest climb has since been surpassed. Kellogg entered the 2003

Khan Tengri Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mounta ...

speed climbing competition in Kazakhstan, a race to climb the mountain, and won. He once held the record for the fastest ascent and descent on

Mount McKinley Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

's West Buttress route, making the round trip to the summit and back in 23 hours, 55 minutes; he was the first known person to ascend and descend in less than 24 hours. Kellogg made three attempts to break speed record on

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

in 2010, 2011 and 2013, but never succeeded.

First ascents

Throughout his career, Kellogg claimed a number of

s. These included the Black Crystal Arete route on

Kichatna Spire Kichatna Spire, sometimes called the Kichatna Spires, is a spire-shaped peak in the Kichatna Mountains of the Alaska Range, in Denali National Park and Preserve, southwest of Denali. Cul-de-sac, Shelf and Shadows Glaciers originate at Kichatna ...

in Alaska (2005; with

Joe Puryear Joseph Nicholi Puryear (1973 – October 27, 2010) was an American mountain climber. Early life Puryear was born in 1973 to Gail and Shirley Puryear and was raised on their winery in Yakima Valley, Washington. In his youth, he took up carpentr ...

), the southwest ridge of

Mount Siguniang Mount Siguniang (; , ''Skubla'') is the highest mountain of Qionglai Mountains in Western China. It is located in the bordering area of Rilong Town, Xiaojin County and Wenchuan County in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Pro ...

(2008; with Dylan Johnson), the Medicine Buddha route on

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...

in Argentina (2009), and Pangbuk Ri in Nepal (2011). In 2012, Kellogg traveled to Nepal with David Gottlieb to attempt the first ascent of Lunag Ri; they abandoned the attempt when Gottlieb fell sick, but in 2014 Kellogg won a Mugs Stump Award grant to return to the mountain for another attempt.

Death on Fitz Roy

Kellogg and his climbing partner Jens Holsten traveled to

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

, Argentina in 2014 on an expedition to climb

Fitz Roy Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

in Seattle. They began dating in 1999 and were married from 2000 until she died in 2007 while descending Mount Wake in

Denali National Park Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve e ...

, Alaska. A month after his wife's death, Kellogg was diagnosed with

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

, which later went into remission. Before his death in 2014, Kellogg was in a relationship with Mandy Kraus. He was a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellogg, Chad 1971 births 2014 deaths American mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths People from Omak, Washington Mountain climbers from Seattle Sport deaths in Argentina University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni