Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins ( born 1935 in West Virginia) is an American pioneer of big wall climbing, especially in Yosemite National Park.
Life
Robbins was born in West Virginia, but moved in 1940 with his parents to California. Even as a boy scout, he was impressed by beauty of the Sierra Nevada and in particular of the Yosemite Valley and began in the San Fernando Valley in California climbing. His technique he developed further on Tahquitz in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California, since the mid-1930s mountain climbing section of the Sierra Club. After military service, he decided to devote himself entirely to climbing, where he worked as a ski instructor in the winter ( 1960 to 1964 in the Sugar Bowl in California). Yvon Chouinard With Warren Harding and he was then in the late 1950s with the development of many big wall routes up to Grade VI - Yosemite Decimal System (VI - equivalent to more than one day ) in Yosemite Valley involved. They contributed to the establishment of a new "American" style of climbing, for which they also developed new imaging methods. At the same time he was an early proponent of clean climbing with as few holes and cable support. His main climbing partner in Yosemite were Chuck Pratt and Tom Frost.
In 1963 he married Elizabeth Burkner and moved in 1965 to Leysin in Switzerland, to develop new extreme routes in the Alps. In 1967 he returned to California and founded in Modesto a climbing school for advanced rock Craft. In 1969 he founded with his wife Mountain Paraphernalia ( a shop for climbing equipment ).
From 1975 he started as an extreme kayaker (with more than 30 extreme first descents in California and Chile) a name and founded the company in 1979 for Royal Robbins outdoor clothing ( with a turnover in 1988 of $ 10 million ). 10 percent of the proceeds Robbins let it flow into environmental projects.