Steve Roper is a noted climber and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

. He along with

Allen Steck Allen Steck (born 1926) is an American mountaineer and rock climber. He is a native of Oakland, California. Mountaineering Steck started climbing with his brother George. In 1940 when Allen was 14, the two completed the first ascent of the nor ...

are the founding editors 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 ...

journal ''Ascent''. Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award for 1983. He is also, with Allen Steck, the recipient of the American Alpine Club's Literary Award (1995).

Publications

* "A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley" (1964) LCC # 63-21911 * ''A Climber's Guide to Pinnacles National Monument'' (1966), * "Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley" (1971), * ''The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra,'' (1976), * ''

Fifty Classic Climbs of North America ''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspi ...

'', (1979), * "Timberline Country: The Sierra High Route" (1982) * ''Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country'' (1997), *

Publications as editor

* *

Notable ascents

* 1959 ''North Face'' of Middle Cathedral Rock,

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

, CA (VI 5.9 A4), with Bob Kamps and

Chuck Pratt Charles Marshall Pratt (March 5, 1939 – December 16, 2000) was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a long-time climbing instructor and mountain guide with Exum Mountain Guides in th ...

. * 1963, first free ascent of the Kor-Ingalls Route on

Castleton Tower Castleton Tower (officially, Castle Rock) is a Wingate Sandstone tower standing on a 1,000 foot Moenkopi-Chinle cone above the northeastern border of Castle Valley, Utah. The tower is world-renowned as a subject for photography and for its classi ...

near

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...

, Utah, with

. * 1963 ''West Buttress'',

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. (VI 5.10 A3+) FA with Layton Kor. * 1963 Third ascent of the ''El Cap Nose'', with Glen Denny and Layton Kor. * 1966 First one-day ascent of the NW face of

Half Dome Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth ...

, with Jeff Foott. * 1966 Third ascent of the Salathe Wall on El Cap, with Dick Long and Allen Steck.

References

External links

The Sierra High Route: A Journey at Timberline
Roper's account of how he forged the Sierra High Route {{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Steve American rock climbers Sierra Club awardees Living people 1941 births

Publications

Publications as editor

Notable ascents

See also

References

External links