Steve Swenson (born February 14, 1954) is an American rock climber,

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, and author. Swenson served as the president of the board of directors for the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 26,000 members. The club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in Golden, Colorado. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers d ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Climbing career

Swenson is known for his big-mountain climbing expeditions to the

Karakoram range The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

, about which he wrote the book ''Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict'', published by

Mountaineers Books The Mountaineers is an alpine club in the US state of Washington. Founded in 1906, it is organized as an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and is based in Seattle, Washington. The club hosts a wid ...

. Swenson has taken part in over 15 expeditions to the area. In 2012, Swenson along with Mark Richey and Freddie Wilkinson, made the first ascent of Sasser Kangri II. At the time, the peak was the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world. For their climbing, the team was awarded the '' Piolet d’Or''. In 2019, Swenson, along with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey, and Chris Wright, climbed Link Sar, for its first ascent. The team was awarded the Piolet d'Or in 2020, for their achievement. Swenson had attempted to climb it twice before, in 2000 and 2017. Steve is one of only a few people to receive more than one Piolet d'Or, considered mountaineering's highest honor.

Personal life

Along with his climbing career, Swenson had a 35-year career as a water resources consulting engineer.

Notable ascents

* K2, without oxygen (1990). *

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

, without oxygen (1994). *

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat () (; ), known locally as Diamer (), is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-a ...

, ascent of the Mazeno Ridge to Mazeno Gap, 2004 * K7 West, North Ridge, 2004 * Sasser Kangri II (2012), a climb for which he was awarded the '' Piolet d’Or''. * Link Sar, first ascent, with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey, and Chris Wright in 2019.

Writings

*''Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict'', published by

in 2017.

References

1954 births American rock climbers American mountain climbers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American summiters of Mount Everest Living people Piolet d'Or winners {{climbing-bio-stub