Alpinist

Steve House began venturing into the high mountains as a teenager, and has since built a career on climbing, guiding and coaching. By the time he published his book Beyond the Mountain in 2009, Reinhold Messner said House was “at the top of mountaineering.”

House’s life in climbing has taken him all over the world. His most famous ascent may be the Central Pillar of Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face, a climb he completed with Vince Anderson. But he has compiled an impressive list of first ascents and new routes in Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, the Alps and the Karakoram. Steve has been a professional mountain guide since 1992, and in 1999 he became the ninth American to achieve IFMGA certification.

But these days House lives in a small Austrian mountain town with his wife and two kids. In the mornings he spends time getting outside, while the later part of the day is dedicated to working with his company Uphill Athlete. He retired from professional climbing in 2020.

In this episode, we revisit passages from Steve’s book Beyond the Mountain, discuss fatherhood, and finding his way in his new home in Austria. We learn about the climb that drove him to focus more on training and preparation, and eventually led him to start his company, Uphill Athlete. And, we learn more about how he thinks about climbing and what it is to be human—to focus on the act of becoming rather than being.

Support for this episode of the Alpinist Podcast comes from Osprey.

Alpinist Magazine: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Host: Abbey Collins

Guest: Steve House

Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn

Dr. Len Necefer didn’t grow up skiing steep slopes or topping out on summits like he does today. Instead, his connection to the outdoors began with golf—a fact he shares rather sheepishly. Necefer was an avid golfer from age five until he was eighteen, when he moved to the desert southwest and realized how water-intensive that sport is.

Necefer is a member of the Navajo Nation, and is working to bring more Native voices and talents into the outdoor industry through his organization Natives Outdoors.

He believes in the importance of engaging with the environment in a thoughtful, meaningful and respectful way. As a backcountry skier and climber, he cultivates connection with the mountains he visits and the people he visits them with. He is a regular Alpinist contributor.

In this episode, Necefer reflects on why having a sense of humor is essential when trying to communicate about heavy subjects like climate change; what it was like teaching himself to ski; and why it’s important for all of us to vote.

Support for this episode of the Alpinist Podcast comes from the American Alpine Club.

Alpinist Magazine: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Host: Abbey Collins

Guest: Len Necefer

Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn

Author and mountaineer David Roberts reads his essay "Death and Climbing," which first appeared in the winter 2016 issue of Alpinist.

In November 2016, while attempting the unclimbed Lunag Ri (6907m) with David Lama, Conrad Anker suffered a heart attack and had to descend from the climb to be evacuated by helicopter from advanced base camp. In this episode, Anker recalls the event and considers the effects on his career as an alpinist going forward. More at alpinist.com/podcast.

In this episode, Chris Kalman narrates “Less Rich Without You," a story by Nick Bullock that was first published in Alpinist 68 (Winter 2019-20). The story chronicles Bullock's attempt to climb a new route on Minya Konka, a 7556-meter peak in Sichuan Province, China, in 2018. At age 52, on his twenty-fourth expedition, he and Paul Ramsden make their way through the hazardous maze of an icefall amid heavy mist and falling snow—and through the allures and pitfalls of a modern professional climbing life.

Narrated by Chris Kalman.

Audio Production by Nick Mott.

[Photo] Nick Bullock

This episode is possible thanks to the support of Rab | The Mountain People.