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Chris Jones
Like many English climbers schooled in the
1950s, Chris graduated from ascents in Britain, to the Alps and
later the Andes. In Britain he pioneered new routes in England
and Wales, as well as making early repeats of then-difficult
test pieces. During five seasons in the Alps, he progressed from
traditional snow plods to an early British ascent of the Walker
Spur of the Grandes Jorasses. In 1965 he climbed the renowned
Bonatti Pillar on the Dru, and attempted the third ascent of the
Central Pillar of Freney, the touchstone challenge of its day.
On the pillar, and in a gathering storm, he and his team
bivouaced at the exact spot from which Bonatti and his
companions had retreated, precipitating one of the greatest
tragedys in Alpinism. Bearing in mind the history, rational
thought was well-nigh impossible, and Chris and his team
abandoned their attempt the following day.
During these seasons in the Alps, Chris met and climbed with
several Americans, among them John Harlin and Royal Robbins.
Descriptions of endless unclimbed walls and mountains, and in
particular Robbins’ slide presentation of the just-climbed North
America Wall in Yosemite, prompted Chris to go see for himself.
His thought was that American big-wall climbers were world
leaders, and that one needed these techniques to attempt the
challenges of tomorrow. Being in the United States was one
thing, but having enough time to get into the mountains was
another. Once out of college, one was supposed to work! About
the only answer to the dilemna at that time was working and then
quitting for the climbing season. Thus, in 1967 he joined the
ragbag crew in Yosemite Valley, then the world’s most important
rockclimbing area. That first spring in Yosemite, he climbed
eight Grade V or VI routes. He then began a long association
with the Canadian Rockies, climbing with Yvon Chouinard and Joe
Faint. In 1968 he was in Yosemite in April, then Peru, and
finally Patagonia; a great year with 3 months work and 9 months
climbing! In Peru, the unclimbed East Face of Yerupaja was a
known plum; Bonatti had picked it out as an outstanding route.
In Patagonia, Chris and companions Yvon Chouinard, Dick Dorworth,
Lito Tejada-Flores and Doug Tompkins made the third ascent of
Fitzroy; this American Route was for many years the
most-repeated route on the mountain.
In California’s Sierra Nevada, Chris and Galen Rowell initiated
a new interest in alpine rock climbing. In later seasons in
Yosemite he made the eighth ascent of the Salathe Wall, and
attempted the first ascent of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, his team
relinquishing their push because they judged the route to
require too many bolts. But it was alpinism that was Chris' main
passion. As Steve Roper was to write: “His awesome routes in
Canada are considered classics to this day.” A chance discussion
with Fritz Wiessner fired his imagination about the Canadian
Rockies’ Mt. Columbia. Here, and in Canada’s Bugaboos, he and
his companions established wonderful climbs. As Chic Scott wrote
in his history, ‘Pushing the Limits’: “Americans George Lowe and
Chris Jones established some the most dificult routes in the
world on the north faces of Mts. Columbia, Alberta, Deltaform,
Kitchener, Geike and North Twin.” The ascent of North Twin has
attained legendary proportions. For the centenary of the
American Alpine Club, a panel of climbers was asked to nominate
singular climbs that were hallmarks of their era; for the 1970s,
the panel nominated the ascent of North Twin. Barry Blanchard
wrote of the climb: “I’ll suggest that, in 1974, the route that
George and Chris opened on the north face of North Twin was the
hardest alpine route in the world.”
In the later 1970s, Chris climbed with a Soviet-American team in
Asia. He was in the Canadian Rockies and Sierra Nevada in winter
and summer. His last world-class mountain climb was in 1981 on
Everest’s then-unclimbed Kangshung Face. Here the team
established a route up the demanding lower buttresses; this was
possibly the most difficult climbing then attempted on Everest.
Two years later many of the same team members returned to
complete the route.
In 1975 Chris' “Climbing in North America” was published to wide
acclaim. The first book to attempt an history of climbing on the
continent, it is commonly nominated for lists of the most
influential climbing books. Today, Chris rockclimbs as often as
his schedule permits. He is a lot slower than he was, but he
enjoys the challenge, the outdoors and the companionship just
the same.
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