Alex Lowe
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Stuart Alexander "Alex" Lowe (1958-1999), was widely considered his generation's finest all-around mountaineer prior to his October 5, 1999 death in a massive slab avalanche on Shishapangma in Tibet. The event also claimed the life of talented high-altitude cameraman David Bridges, 29, and injured climber — and longtime Lowe alpine partner — Conrad Anker.
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[edit] Shishapangma accident
In September 1999 Lowe, Anker and Bridges (the latter a USA national paragliding champion) traveled to the 26,291-foot Himalyan giant as part of the 1999 American Shishapangma Ski Expedition. Plans called for them to become the first Americans to ski down an 8,000-meter peak, in this case via the Swiss-Polish route on the South Face. During the roughly three-week trek to base camp, the elite team chronicled their deeds through photographic and written essays at MountainZone.com. On October 5, the trio were crossing a flat snow field already believed reasonably avalanche-safe when a massive serac broke loose 6,000 feet above and thundered toward them. Lowe first spotted the icy mass and yelled a warning. According to Anker, Lowe and Bridges may have attempted to escape by diving into a crevasse. Regardless, neither man escaped. Anker narrowly did. Anker, though injured with a lacerated head, two broken ribs, and dislocated shoulder, led a frantic, ultimately futile, rescue-recovery attempt that spanned a reported 20 hours in a large debris field measuring one to 20 feet deep. Neither Lowe nor Bridges were wearing an emergency location transponder, which might have helped rescuers pinpoint their bodies. Neither man was ever found.
Prior to his death, Lowe — an expert skier — commented on the climb to MountainZone.com. "It's been a passionate goal of mine to ski off an 8,000 meter peak. I guess there's a lot of people sort of looking to do this and try to ski off Everest. But for me, it's got to be an aesthetic and quality run. And [Shishapangma] has the best ski line of any of the 8,000 meter peaks. It's just an absolutely straight shot right down the Southwest Face. That's going to be a good one."[citation needed]
[edit] Climbing achievements
The Montana native's climbing achievements at altitude, on rock, ice and mixed terrain are legendary, including harrowing ascents of the North Ridge on K2, the first "free ascent" of the 4,000-foot west face of Peak 4810 in Kyrgyzstan, a difficult route on Gasherbrum IV, first ascent of the 6,000-foot northwest face of the Great Trango Tower in Pakistan, 11 routes on El Capitan (many A5 routes), Denali, difficult winter climbs in the Tetons, the 2,500-rock pillar Rakekniven in Antarctica, peaks in the Baffin Islands, as well as on-sighting exceptionally difficult 5.12d sport routes. Closer to his Bozeman, Montana home, Lowe scaled challenging ice routes in the Hyalite Canyon of the Gallatin National Forest. The Montana State University graduate is credited with numerous speed ascents in the Tetons. In 1994 he won an International Speed Climbing Competition in Kyrgzstan, covering the distance in 10 hours, 8 minutes. In 1995, the American Alpine Club honored him with the Underhill Award for outstanding mountaineering achievement, the highest honor in U.S. mountaineering.
Lowe frequently climbed with The North Face professional climbing team and author-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, author of bestseller Into Thin Air. After his death, Outside Magazine posthumously declared Lowe "the world’s best climber," adding, “No matter how jaw-dropping his routes, Lowe’s real genius grew out of the way he combined physical accomplishments with an indomitable spirit.”
[edit] "The White Knight"
Referring to Lowe, David Hahn — a two-time Everest summiter — once remarked with a deferential gesture of his hand, "There's Alex Lowe up here, and then there's the rest of us down here. The guy's just really that much better than everybody else." World-class climber Conrad Anker would later make an almost verbatim comparison. Despite widespread praise, Lowe remained humble and discounted the notion of any "best climber," adding, "The best climber is the one having the most fun."[citation needed]
Lowe gained iconic status within the climbing community for his courage, humility, grace and supreme athleticism. Climbing lore is replete with stories of his exceptional upperbody strength, developed through a fanatical exercise regimen that regularly included 400 chin-ups.
In 1995, Lowe assisted the National Park Service in rescuing several imperiled climbers on Mount Denali, at one point carrying an incapacitated climber up a snow bank to a rescue helicopter waiting at nearly 20,000 feet[citation needed]. Recalled a Park ranger, "He literally, single-handedly, saved several people. He picked one guy up who had frozen hands and feet and couldn't move and was literally inches from death."
Another episode found Lowe blowing out the toe box on his climbing shoe halfway up Yosemite’s massive El Capitan. He completed the climb by wearing his shoe backward. An engineer by training, Lowe often relaxed at camp at night by doing advanced calculus problems by headlamp[citation needed].
Numerous first ascents and heroic feats earned Lowe a cult-like following — and a host of colorful nicknames: "The Mutant," "The White Knight," and "The Lung with Legs," this last title bestowed by an astonished climber who witnessed Lowe — carrying a heavy load — effortlessly ascend Argentina's 22,841-foot Aconcagua (highest peak in the Western Hemisphere) in a two-day lightning assault[citation needed].
Lowe's philosophy was expressed in a Helen Keller quotation that he posted on his office wall: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."
[edit] Memorial fund
Lowe left behind in Bozeman a wife (painter Jennifer Leigh Lowe, today married to Conrad Anker[1]) and three sons, Max, Sam, and Isaac. A memorial fund was established in his honor[2].
[edit] Climbing and skiing resumé
[edit] Notable climbs
- First Ascents
- Great Trango, Pakistan, 1999
- Rakekniven, Antarctica, 1997
- Mount Hunter's Moonflower Buttress, Alaska
- Sail Peak, Baffin Island, 1997
- Peak 4810, Kirghizstan, 1995
- New Routes
- Kwangde Nup, Nepal, 1989
- Kusum Kanguru, Nepal, 1990
- Northwest Chimney, Grand Teton, Wyoming, 1991
- Other Climbs
- Mount Everest, South Col Route, Nepal, 1990 and 1993
- Matterhorn, Switzerland
- K2, China, 1986
- Gasherbrum IV, Pakistan, 1992
- Aconcagua, Argentina, 1993 and 1994
- Annapurna, Nepal, 1996
[edit] Skiing
- First Descents
- Hellmouth Couloir, Alex Lowe Peak (formerly peak 10,031), Montana, 1997
- Northwest Couloir, Middle Teton, Wyoming, 1992
- Enclosure Couloir, Grand Teton, Wyoming, 1994
[edit] Quote
"I sort of steer clear of the whole 'World's Best Climber' stuff, it's a sort of hype, really, and climbing just doesn't lend itself to that. There might be a fastest runner, or a highest jumper—you can measure that, quantify that. But climbing is different. It's just too subjective. And it's a lifestyle, not a sport. So I don't really think there is such a thing as a 'best climber.' There are certainly talented climbers, and there are persistent, sort of anal climbers, you know? They just can't give up. And those are the ones that sort of go on and do lots of climbs, and harder climbs. Those are the people who just can't shake it off. That's what I am."
[edit] Alex Lowe Peak
Formerly known by its elevation as Peak 10,031, Alex Lowe Peak, south of Bozeman, Montana in the Gallatin National Forest was named after him in September 2005. In spring of 1997 Alex Lowe climbed the northern couloir with friend Hans Saari. Upon reaching the summit the two made a first ski-descent down what they named "Hellmouth Couloir," this first descent is also the only known descent of this couloir.
