Walter A. "Pete" Starr Jr. (1903–1933) was an American lawyer and mountain climber.
A graduate of
Stanford University, Starr was a respected lawyer in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, but he is better known for his abilities as a mountain climber and an explorer of the
Sierra Nevada. 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.
In August 1933, he failed to return from a month-long hike in the
Minarets. 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 ...
, 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
Sierra Club. 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.
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{{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