Scott Backes is an American

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 ...

. Backes has been called "one of the leading alpine mountain climbers in the United States." He was born in 1957 and has lived most of his life in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. Backes started climbing in 1975. He climbs in the

Alpine style Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocke ...

, light and fast. Through the years Backes has done many extreme climbs including

first ascents In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they e ...

in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...

, the

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, and the

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBo ...

. His climbing partners include many notable mountaineers, such as

Mark Twight Mark Twight (born November 2, 1961) is an American climber, writer and the founder of Gym Jones. He rose to prominence as a mountaineer in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a series of difficult, dangerous alpine climbs in various ranges around ...

, Steve House,

Barry Blanchard Barry Blanchard (born March 29, 1959) is one of North America's top alpinists, noted for pushing the standards of highly technical, high-risk alpine climbing in the Canadian Rockies and the Himalayas. Climbing accomplishments Blanchard was born i ...

, and Michael Kennedy.

Mountaineering accomplishments

*"Deprivation" on Mount Hunter in the

. This was a 72-hour blitz of a route than halved the previous fastest time. Mark Twight was his climbing partner. *"M16" Howse Peak East Face. Scott Backes, Barry Blanchard, and Steve House completed an "outstanding winter route" in the Canadian Rockies. *"Fuck Em, They're all Posers Anyway" in Bolivia on Pico del Norte. On this route, Scott Backes and Mark Twight climbed 19,000 ft. Pico del Norte without ropes or packs. This was a difficult climb, and they carried minimal gear. *" The Slovak Direct" on

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thi ...

. The Slovak Direct, as it is formally called, is the toughest route on Denali, and one of the hardest routes that has ever been climbed. Scott came out of climbing retirement at age 43 to try this route with his friends Mark Twight and Steve House in the year 2000. With minimal gear, including no tent or sleeping bags, they climbed the route in a 60-hour continuous push. *Scott Backes met Mark Twight in 1989 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 ...

, France. There, they forged a partnership that would last for over 12 years. The routes done in the Alps included many in and around Chamonix, including a

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they e ...

of "There Goes The Neighborhood" on the northwest face of the Aiguille Sans Nom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Backes, Scott 1956 births Living people American mountain climbers