Top American Alpinist Steve Swenson to Talk at the Banff Mountain Festival
He's one of North America's most accomplished alpine climbers
Steve Swenson has been climbing for over 50 years, with over 20 expeditions to the world’s Great Ranges. He’s made ascents of the North Ridge of K2 and the North Ridge of Everest solo – both without supplementary oxygen.
In 2012, he and his partners made the first ascent of Sasser Kangri II (7,518 m) – the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world for which they were awarded the prestigious Piolets d’Or. In 2019, Swenson, Chris Wright, Graham Zimmerman and Mark Richey made the first ascent of Link Sar (7,041m) in Eastern Karakoram, Pakistan. The ascent also received a Piolets d’Or.
He is married with two sons and after a 35-year consulting engineering career related to water and wastewater infrastructure projects, Swenson retired to become a full time climber and alpinist. He is the author of Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict which was shortlisted for the 2017 Banff Mountain Literature Award.
Swenson joins noted climber, writer and former psychologist Geoff Powter in conversation on stage for this year’s Voices of Adventure interview at the Banff Mountain Festival on Oct. 31. The program will begin with a screening of the film, Link Sar, and will be followed by a screening of Not Alone. The 2021 Summit of Excellence Award will also be presented. You can purchase tickets here.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
