Jeff Lowe, American Alpinist

Jeff Lowe, pioneering American alpinist, was born in Ogden, UT, on September 13, 1950. Jeff grew up exploring, hiking and climbing in the foothills of Ogden with his father, Ralph Lowe, and brothers, Mike and Greg. He was the youngest person to climb the Grand Teton when he was just seven years old. Greg introduced Jeff to ice climbing in the early 1970s on the Malan’s Falls.

Jeff had many notable climbing achievements and over 1,000 first ascents across the U.S., Canadian Rockies, Alps and Himalayas. He was an advocate for alpine style climbing (emphasizing speed, minimal gear, and self-reliance) and is credited with pioneering modern mixed climbing, which combines rock and ice techniques.

Some of Jeff’s most notable climbs are listed here:

• Moonlight Buttress (5.8 C1), Utah: First ascent with Mike Weis (1971).
• West Face, Grand Teton (13,775 feet), Wyoming: First winter ascent with George Lowe (1972).
• North Face, Wetterhorn Peak (14,021 feet), Colorado: First ascent with Paul Hogan (1973).
• Northeast Corner, Keeler Needle (14,260 feet), California: First ascent with John Weiland (1973).
• Bridalveil Falls (WI5+), Colorado: First ascent with Mike Weis (1973).
• Ama Dablam (22,349 feet), Sagarmatha National Park, Kumbu Region, Himalayas, Nepal: Second ascent with a team, and subsequent first solo ascent via Lowe Route (1979).
• Metanoia (VII, 5.10, M6, A4), Eiger North Face, Bern, Switzerland: A difficult winter, unbolted, solo climb, known for its transformative impact on Lowe (1991).
• Octopussy (WI6 M7/8 R), Colorado: A route that pioneered dry tooling (1994).
• Lowe Route Angels Landing (5.10 C3), North Face, Zion National Park, UT: A route featuring a mix of rock and ice climbing (2001).

Beyond climbing, Jeff founded the outdoor companies, Cloudwalker, Inc. and Latok Mountain Gear, which launched one of the first softshell jackets. He was also the field climbing equipment tester for Lowe Alpine Systems, an outdoor company his brother, Greg, founded in 1967. Greg invented the internal frame backpack, the cam nuts and held 23 patents on various rock and ice climbing devices. Greg was also a photographer and cinematographer who created Lowe Pro camera bags and the
Lowe Alpine Production Company. Jeff developed climbing equipment including the RATS ice screw and the Tuber belay device. Jeff founded the Ouray Ice Festival in Ouray, CO and the Ogden Climbing Festival in Ogden, UT. He organized the first international sport climbing competition in the U.S. held at Snowbird, UT in 1988. He wrote many climbing articles, and he wrote and starred in many climbing films.

In the early 2000s, Jeff was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease which progressively limited his mobility. He remained influential in the climbing world. Jeff’s life and career are chronicled in his award-winning documentary film, Metanoia. Among his many accolades, he received the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award, one of mountaineering’s highest honors, in 2017. Jeff died August 24, 2018.

Jeff is one of the most recognized climbers in the world. Jeff shaped climbing with his many contributions to the sport. His talent, dedication and vision are an inspiration to all of us. In his words, “Have fun, work hard, and get smart—in that order.”