Steve Wunsch


Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Date of death: 25th October 2019
Hardest Trad (Worked): E6
Notable Partnerships
Jim Erickson

Henry Barber:

Steve was one of the most visionary climbers I ever climbed with. He put up hard climbs that were ahead of their time by a decade. I was known more for scary onsights, but his climbs compared to mine were futuristic by 20 years harder than anything I did. It took over a decade for Steve’s 'Psycho Roof' in Eldorado Canyon to be repeated. [2]

References

[1] Obituary by John Bragg, 2019 https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201215496

[2] https://www.facebook.com/rockandice/posts/steve-wunsch-one-of-the-best-climbers-in-the-world-in-the-1960s-and-1970s-died-f/10157714840455030/

[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20230202012326/https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/celebrating-the-life-of-steve-wunsch-by-your-own-lights/

Contributors
6 contributions since 15th December 2024.

Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Date of death: 25th October 2019
Hardest Trad (Worked): E6
Notable Partnerships
Jim Erickson

Henry Barber:

Steve was one of the most visionary climbers I ever climbed with. He put up hard climbs that were ahead of their time by a decade. I was known more for scary onsights, but his climbs compared to mine were futuristic by 20 years harder than anything I did. It took over a decade for Steve’s 'Psycho Roof' in Eldorado Canyon to be repeated. [2]

References

[1] Obituary by John Bragg, 2019 https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201215496

[2] https://www.facebook.com/rockandice/posts/steve-wunsch-one-of-the-best-climbers-in-the-world-in-the-1960s-and-1970s-died-f/10157714840455030/

[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20230202012326/https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/celebrating-the-life-of-steve-wunsch-by-your-own-lights/

Contributors
6 contributions since 15th December 2024.

Pics + Vids

No pics or vids yet.


Ascents

1 recorded ascents.

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Psycho! (Free) E6 Lead | worked Jun 1975
First ascent.

The line Wunsch climbed was never repeated. He climbed a large flake leading to some hard moves on small crimps, but while David Breashears was trying to make the second ascent he noticed the flake was very loose. Breashears was able to remove the flake in a few pieces and bring it back to the ground in the hope of re-attaching it, but it was not to be. [1]

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/people/cleaning-up-climbing-history/

Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade