Steve Swenson (born February 14, 1954) is an American rock climber,

mountaineer 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, an ...

, and author. Swenson served as the president of the board of directors for the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Climbing career

Swenson is known for his big-mountain climbing expeditions to the

Karakoram range The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great ...

, about which he wrote the book ''Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict'', published by

Mountaineers Books The Mountaineers is an alpine club in the US state of Washington. Founded in 1906, it is organized as an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation, and is based in Seattle, Washington. The club hosts a wide ...

. Swenson has taken part in over 15 expeditions to the area. In 2012, Swenson along with Mark Richey and Freddie Wilkinson, made the first ascent of Sasser Kangri II. At the time, the peak was the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world. For their climbing, the team was awarded the '' Piolet d’Or''. In 2019, Swenson, along with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey, and Chris Wright, climbed

Link Sar Link Sar is a mountain located in the Masherbrum range of the Karakoram between the head of the Charakusa Glacier and the Kaberi Glacier. The peak lies on a horseshoe which links K6 and K7 around the head of the Charakusa Glacier. Climbing h ...

, for its first ascent. The team was awarded the Piolet d'Or in 2020, for their achievement. Swenson had attempted to climb it twice before, in 2000 and 2017. Steve is one of only a few people to receive more than one Piolet d'Or, considered mountaineering's highest honor.

Personal life

Along with his climbing career, Swenson had a 35-year career as a water resources consulting engineer.

Notable ascents

* K2, without oxygen (1990). *

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 ...

, without oxygen (1994). *

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...

, ascent of the Mazeno Ridge to Mazeno Gap, 2004 * K7 West, North Ridge, 2004 * Sasser Kangri II (2012), a climb for which he was awarded the '' Piolet d’Or''. *

, first ascent, with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey, and Chris Wright in 2019.

Writings

*''Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict'', published by

in 2017.

References

1954 births American rock climbers American mountain climbers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American summiters of Mount Everest Living people Piolet d'Or winners {{climbing-bio-stub