Roger Baxter-Jones (1950 to 1985, born in London), was a British

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 ...

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (I ...

and alpine guide. He was an early pioneer in Himalayan alpine style ascents of

eight-thousander The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...

mountains, and a guide in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it ha ...

, noted for his competence and vast experience.

Paul Nunn Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

wrote "One of Britain's leading mountaineers, a member of the ACG Committee for years, and certainly one of the strongest ever, he was a top off-piste skier, and a mountaineer of impeccable judgment, able to guide on routes of the highest standards with a considerable margin."

Notable ascents

His notable ascents in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

include the second ascent of the Whymper Spur Direct on the

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by Ho ...

with Nick Colton; and the first winter ascent (solo) of the North Face of the

Aiguille des Grands Charmoz The Aiguille des Grands Charmoz (3,445 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas ...

. His notable Himalayan ascents include

Jannu Mount Kumbhakarna or Jannu (Limbu: ''Phoktanglungma'') is the 32nd-highest mountain in the world. It is an important western outlier of Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak. Kumbhakarna is a large and steep peak in its own right, and ha ...

, Makalu II,

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

(unsuccessful), Shisha Pangma,

Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger ...

, K2 (unsuccessful). Baxter-Jones' golden rule "Come back alive, come back as friends, get to the top — in that order" was well respected amongst elite climbers. Baxter-Jones climbed with many of the premiere alpinists of his time including

Doug Scott Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English mountaineer, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest ho ...

(who said of Baxter-Jones: "All the partners I've had who I really rated have gone"), Georges Bettembourg and

Alex MacIntyre Alex MacIntyre (1954–1982) was a British mountaineer in the 1970s. He is known for developing new climbing techniques that enabled ascents not previously accomplished. Early life MacIntyre was born in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, to S ...

. Baxter-Jones and Scott's ascent of Broad Peak was the subject of the 1984 film ''Himalaya - 8000 mètres sans oxygène'' by Jean Afanassieff.

Death

He died on 8 July 1985 aged 35 while guiding a client, when a

serac A serac (from Swiss French ''sérac'') is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. Even ...

collapsed on the north face of the

Triolet A triolet (, ) is almost always a stanza poem of eight lines, though stanzas with as few as seven lines and as many as nine or more have appeared in its history. Its rhyme scheme is ABaAabAB (capital letters represent lines repeated verbatim) an ...

. The Doug Parker and Roger Baxter-Jones Memorial Scholarship was established at the American Mountain Guides Association to honor his memory.

Personal life

Roger Baxter-Jones married Christine Comte, and had a daughter, the actress .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter-Jones, Roger British mountain climbers 1950 births 1985 deaths Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in France Deaths on Mont Blanc