Climbers

Royal Robbins was an extremely influential climber from the USA in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was part of a generation of climbers who established Yosemite as a world class climbing destination and made first ascents and repeats of many now-famous routes there.

Robbins was also very influential in terms of the climbing style and ethics he espoused. Many of the values he championed, such as minimising reliance on fixed ropes, minimising the use of bolts and climbing from the ground up remain core to what is considered good style in modern big wall climbing. Together with Yvon Chouinard Robbins was an early proponent of the use of chocks over pitons as a means of minimising damage to the rock.

In later life Robbins struggled with arthritis in his hands which made climbing difficult. Because of this Robbins focused his energy on his business ventures and, later, on white water kayaking. He made first descents of several rivers in the US and further abroad.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CU4qXc5J8i7/

[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6849687261751921&set=a.126453404075374

[3] Smart, D. (2023). Royal Robbins: The American Climber. United States: Mountaineers Books.

[4] Ament, P. (1998). Royal Robbins: Spirit of the Age. United States: Stackpole Books.

[5] Robbins, R. (2010). To Be Brave: My Life. United Kingdom: Pink Moment Productions.

[6] Robbins, R. (2010). Fail Falling. United States: Pink Moment Press.

[7] https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ce65n5RTjNYnXYEBJAH1A?

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/C1sFXT7NjK0/

[2] Niall Grimes and Rick Accomazzo chat about Tobin, 2024 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SXhH433ltw5RhBrTedv2l?

Born Robert Alain Philippe.

Alain is famous for his solo climbing, and since the mid 90s his solo climbs of skyscrapers.

References

[1] Alain Robert, l’homme qui joue avec la mort Grimper.com, 10th March 2023 https://www.grimper.com/news-alain-robert-homme-joue-mort