Iconic Alpinist and Author Chris Jones Dies

Chris Jones, one of the most accomplished climbers of the golden age of alpinism, has died at the age of 84. During the 1960s and 1970s, he pushed the limits of big wall climbing and went on to author several must-have works of climbing literature.

“His awesome routes in Canada are considered classics to this day,” said legendary climber Steve Roper. But it wasn’t just in Canada, Jones established bold climbs in Wales, England, Yosemite, Peru and Patagonia. In 1968, Jones, Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Dick Dorworth and Lito Tejada-Flores left northern California en route to climb Cerro Fitz Roy. They filmed their exploits on a 16 mm Bolex camera and put their footage into a film called Mountain of Storms. The six-month trip resulted in the formation of several companies, including The North Face, Patagonia and Esprit.

In 1974, Jones and George Lowe made the first ascent of the 1,500-metre north face of North Twin in the Canadian Rockies at the grade of VI 5.10 A3. It was said to be one of the hardest alpine routes ever done at the time, and it still has not been repeated in its entirety. In 1975, Jones authored the book Climbing in North America to wide acclaim. It was the first book that documented the history of alpinism in North America, and it served as a compass for many young climbers at the time.

The list of new routes and bold repeats that Jones completed is long and varied, but what’s most telling about what kind of climber Jones was is written by Lowe in his 1975 story about the North Twin, in which he says, “The basic toughness in him that is so critical in a climbing companion comes out. We will keep going until we are absolutely stopped. I feel grateful to be with Chris. He probably can’t lead F10 or extreme ice, but somehow he gets up things, something far more important to me than the ability to climb a tough crack in Yosemite.”

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Mountain of Storms