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Colorado Springs Climbing History:

Local Legends

This page is an attempt to document some of the noteworthy climbers associated with Colorado Springs climbing.  It is a work in progress and is not complete by any means.  It is likely that the information presented on individuals below is incomplete or perhaps incorrect in some way.  We would love to have more information and to be able to correct anything that is in error.  There are many noteworthy climbers that are not included yet on this page as we do not have any information.  These include climbers such as Dennis Jackson, Don Doucette, Leonard Coyne, Pete Gallagher, Steve Wood, Art Howells, and certainly many others.  If you would like to help refine and add to this list, please send any info or requests to jeff@mtnchalet.com

Albert R. Ellingwood (1887 - 1934) - Ellingwood was born in Iowa in 1887, grew up in Cripple Creek, attended Colorado Springs High School and then later Colorado College. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford where he learned how to climb and brought those skills back to Colorado Springs. Arguably, he introduced British rock-climbing techniques to America. Ellingwood likely contributed more to mountaineering in Colorado and Wyoming than any other single person. He made many numerous notable first ascents including Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson, Lizard Head, Middle Teton, and South Teton. He also made many difficult ascents in Colorado by new routes, made the third ascents of the Grand Teton, and Gannet Peak in Wyoming, and was one of only three people who had climbed all of the named 14'ers in Colorado.

Eleanor S. Davis (1886 - 1993) - An accomplished climber and physical education teacher at Colorado College, Eleanor was a long-time climbing partner of Albert Ellingwood. Sadly, her exploits where not documented as well as the male climbers of her time, but they are no less important. She was Ellingwood’s partner on the first ascent of Ellingwood Ledges and she was the first female ascent of the Grand Teton.

J. Barton Hoag (1898 - 1962) - Barton was born in Colorado Springs, graduated from Colorado College and later taught physics at Colorado College. He was a partner of Ellingwood and Davis on many notable Colorado ascents. His most remembered ascent was the first ascent of Lizard Head with Ellingwood in 1920. Lizard Head is considered one of the hardest 13'er ascents in the state and still today is a formidable objective.

Robert Manly Ormes (1904 - 1994) - Born in Colorado Springs, Robert was the son of the Colorado College librarian. He graduated from Colorado College with a BA and MA in English. He was the English master at Fountain Valley School, where he was also the rock-climbing instructor and later became a Professor of English at Colorado College. During WWII he taught mountaineering at Camp Hale with the 10th Mountain Division. In the 1920s and 30s he became an expert climber and climbed with Albert Ellingwood, Carl Blaurock, Eleanor Davis, and Mel Griffiths. He was the original editor of the Ormes Guide to the Colorado Mountains and the creator of the Pikes Peak Atlas.

Harvey T. Carter (1930 - 2012) - Harvey Carter was possibly the most prolific Colorado Springs climbers of all time. Many named and forgotten routes in Garden of the Gods, North Cheyenne Canyon, Old Stage Road and all over the South Platte are Carter FAs. He also is credited with first ascents on many now famous routes like Sundevil Chimney on the Titan, the Northcutt-Carter route on Hallet Peak, and three of the four main spires on Fishers Towers. Harvey got the second ascent of Castleton Tower the next day after Layton Kor and Huntley Ingalls managed the FA. Harvey organized the first ever bouldering competition in Garden of the Gods in 1956 and he also founded Climbing Magazine in his basement in 1970. He was an expert skier and worked for the Aspen Ski Patrol for 22 years before being fired for continually skiing out of bounds terrain.

Ray Jardine (1944) - Ray was born in Colorado Springs where he was an Eagle Scout and started his mountain adventures on Pikes Peak. He was a sometimes-controversial figure in climbing as his approach and techniques bucked some of the traditions of the day. He was the first person to climb 5.13 Trad with his ascent of The Pheonix in Yosemite and he’s probably best known for inventing the Spring-Loaded Camming Device (SLCD or cam). He was not the only person working on a camming device, but his invention became the Wild Country Friend which led to basically every other cam on the market today. After climbing Ray became a major proponent of long distance thru hiking and light weight hiking gear.

Bob Robertson (1946 - 2025) - Bob was born in Trinidad, CO and joined the Army which led him to being stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. Bob discovered climbing here and became a fixture at just about every crag in the South Platte and the Wet Mountains. Bob was part of the first wave of bolters in the 80's and during his lifetime he put up thousands of routes from Shelf Road to Cheyenne Canyon, Badger Mountain, Tanner Dome, and beyond. Bob also self-published numerous climbing guides to the areas he extensively developed in.

Jimmie Dunn (1949) - Jimmie Dunn is another Colorado College student with a legendary climbing career. One of Jimmie’s most famous exploits was the first ascent of Cosmos, a 3,000-foot line on El Capitan, which he ended up doing solo despite threats from many Yosemite climbers including Jim Bridwell.  Dunn also pioneered many first free ascents of lines in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison including the classic The Cruise which he freed in 6 hours with Earl Wiggins.

Mark Hesse (1950 - 2014) - Born in Colorado Springs he attended CU Boulder and UCCS in Colorado Springs. He was an avid climber and conservationist. He had first ascents on many continents including the Southeast Face of Mt. Asgard on Baffin Island. He completed a solo ascent of the Scott-Haston route on the South Face of Denali and an alpine-style first ascent of the northeast buttress of 22,241-foot Kangtega in Nepal. His climbing led to a passion for climbing conservation and in 1984 he took over the American Mountain Federation which became the Rocky Mountain Field Institute in 1987.

Stewart Green (1953 - 2024) - A lifelong resident of Colorado Springs, Stewart Green was a prolific climber, author, and photographer. He was part of the talented group of Colorado Springs climbers from the 70's like Jimmie Dunn, Billy Westbay, Bryan Becker, Earl Wiggins, and others. Stewart has hundreds of FAs to his credit though it’s hard to find much information on his climbs as he spent most of his time documenting others. One that is still highly revered today is the first ascent of the West Face of Castleton Tower he did with Jimmie Dunn and Billy Westbay. He authored numerous climbing, hiking, and travel guidebooks including “Rock Climbing Colorado”.

Melvin Douglas Snively (1953 - 2020) - Doug was born in Colorado Springs and got hooked on climbing as a teenager going to the Garden of the Gods and North Cheyenne Canyon. He was another prolific but quiet climber. He was part of the FA for The Incredible Handcrack at Indian Creek, The Squid in RMNP and 150 or more first ascents. He found his way to Estes Park where he became a fixture and local legend in the climbing community there. He also worked as a stunt rigger for movies like Cliffhanger and Iron Man.

Billy Westbay (1953 - 2000) - Billy Westbay grew up in Colorado Springs and was a gifted climber who quietly went on to do some historically amazing ascents. Westbay teamed up with John Long and Jim Bridwell to complete the first single day climb of El Capitan, a climb that’s still celebrated to this day. He went on to become a climbing ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park and spent 15 years on the Copper Mountain Ski Patrol. He once soloed up the east face of Long’s Peak to rescue two climbers in a storm. A legendary rescue among his peers that the Park Service did not publicize because of the extreme risk.

Ed Webster (1956 - 2022) - He moved to Colorado Springs in 1974 to attend Colorado College and immediately started making his mark in the climbing community with the first ascent of Luxury Liner (Supercrack) with Earl Wiggins and Bryan Becker. Ed was likely the first person to use a camming device at Indian Creek as they had 3 early prototype Lowe Cams with them on the climb. He put up FAs and FFAs in the Black Canyon, The Diamond on Longs Peak and many others. His rock climbing led to incredible adventures like the Kangshung Face on Everest where he lost 8 fingertips to frostbite. He was also a writer having written for numerous publications on both coasts including Climbing Magazine and his book “Snow in the Kingdom; My Storm Years on Everest” is considered one of the best Everest climbing books written.

Earl Wiggins (1957 - 2002) - Born in Colorado Springs, Earl Wiggins quickly became a highly influential and legendary climber. He was known for soloing difficult routes such as Outer Limits in Yosemite (age 16), Whimsical Dreams at Turkey Rock, and Scenic Cruise in the Black Canyon. One of his most famous first ascents was of the world-famous Supercrack in Indian Creek. He went on to be involved in stunt rigging and production in many Hollywood blockbuster action movies including Tom Cruise’s famous desert tower climbing scene in Mission Impossible.

Bryan Becker (1957) - Bryan still lives in the Colorado Springs area and was a prominent member of the Springs climbing community.  He put up many bold first ascents in Colorado Springs, the Black Canyon, and Indian Creek.  He was on the first ascent of Supercrack of the Desert with Earl Wiggins and Ed Webster. In 1977 he climbed The Nose (Black Canyon) with Ed Webster which at VI 5.10 A5 was the hardest wall in Colorado.  In 1980 he and Ed Webster established the Hallucinogen Wall (Black Canyon), a legendary 1,800ft big wall ascent and one of the hardest aid climbs in the world at the time.