Climbers

Inventor of the Ewbank grading system which is used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

…the grading systems being used in other countries all had an inbuilt and totally unrealistic glass ceiling, which tradition made it impossible to change. Furthermore, they were all using subdivisions, which created false psychological barriers. And, finally, they were not working well in their country of origin, so why the hell should they work half a world away? …

What we needed was something simple, and more importantly, something that was consistent and our own. So I started a new grading system, beginning at 1 and proceeding one number at a time, with no subdivisions and no pre-ordained limit.

References

[1] http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2292864&tn=0

Royal Robbins:

Well, he was the greatest American alpinist of his day. Harlin had a genius for getting publicity, though, and he let a lot of misleading things develop. The idea that he cut his teeth on El Capitan - or that he was a Yosemite climber at all - is all nonsense. When we brought Yosemite techniques to the Alps, or in particular, when Gary Hemming did, Harlin took all the credit for it. But he had nothing to do with it, except that he jumped on the bandwagon. That sort of thing was what made us object to Harlin: he was so good, and yet he needed to do that. [1]

References

[1] Mountain 18 (1971), page 31 /library/9613/mountain-18

Pioneer of 'clean climbing' - using nuts rather than pitons - in the US.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CkZAL1MtD9J/

Don Whillans:

With the possible exception of Joe Brown, John Streetly was the best rock climber I ever climbed with. His technique was incredible: he could climb as delicately as a fly, but also overcome problems requiring sheer physical strength with ease. [2]

References

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/dec/18/guardianobituaries1

[2] Obituary by George Band Alpine Journal 2000 - In Memoriam