Walter A. "Pete" Starr Jr. (1903–1933) was an American lawyer and mountain climber. A graduate of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, Starr was a respected lawyer in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, but he is better known for his abilities as a mountain climber and an explorer of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. Starr was well known for his hiking ability in the mountains, sometimes walking up to 50 miles a day for several days in a row. Starr was a life member of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

. In August 1933, he failed to return from a month-long hike in the

Minarets A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...

. The search that followed, which led to the eventual discovery of his body by

Norman Clyde Norman Clyde (April 8, 1885 – December 23, 1972) was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self-trained naturalist. He is well known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada an ...

, is one of the most dramatic true tales of the Sierra exploration. His body was buried where it was found. Starr's final notes were compiled and edited by his father into "Starr’s Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region" which was published a year after his death by the

. This book has been edited and revised many times and served hikers and climbers for many years as the standard reference to the trails of the Sierra. A revised version is currently available. Walter Starr is the namesake of

Mount Starr Mount Starr, elevation , is a mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness on the common boundary shared by Sierra National Forest with ...

in the Sierra Nevada.

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Walter A. Jr. 1903 births 1933 deaths American mountain climbers Sierra Club people Stanford University alumni Sierra Nevada (United States) Mountaineering deaths Sports deaths in California