In Memoriam: Jess Roskelley
June 24, 2024
In Memoriam
Jess Roskelley
1982-2019
We are profoundly sad at the passing of our dear friend Jess Roskelley. Jess, along with fellow alpinists David Lama and Hansjörg Auer, perished in a massive avalanche this week while attempting a difficult route on Howse Peak in the Canadian Rockies. Jess, the son of renowned alpinist John Roskelley, became the youngest American to climb Mount Everest when he and his father summited the world’s highest peak in 2003. Since then, Jess had become known as one of the best climbers in the world as he forged new routes, most notably in the mountains of Alaska and Canada. We were proud to have him onLOWA’s Pro Team.
Jess was a great friend to LOWA, as well as to the rest of the climbing community. We mourn his loss.
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* This article By Eli Francovich shared from he Spokesman - Review, Spokane, Washington.
Renowned alpinist Jess Roskelley, from Spokane, Washington, was the son of famed American alpinist John Roskelley.The 36-year-old Spokane climber was attempting to climb M16, a difficult route up the 10,810-foot Howse Peak, in the Canadian Rockies, with Austrian climbers David Lama and Hansjörg Auer, when a large avalance swept down the mountain.
Roskelley told his father, John Roskelley, that he would check in Tuesday night.
He never called.
John Roskelley, who was one of the best alpinists of his generation,, called Parks Canada Wednesday morning. Canadian authorities searched the area by helicopter and saw avalanche debris, climbing gear and one partially buried body.
In a news release, Parks Canada said the three climbers were presumed dead after officials saw “signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment.”
Recovery isn’t currently possible, according to the release, because of dangerous avalanche conditions.
Howse Peak is in Alberta near the British Columbia provincial line in Banff National Park.
An Austrian paper reported Thursday morning that the trio were missing.
Roskelley doesn’t believe they survived the avalanche.
The three climbers were some of the best in the world and had already climbed several difficult Canadian routes this spring.
They were attempting the route M16, Roskelley said.
“This route they were trying to do was first done in 2000,” Roskelley said. “It’s just one of those routes where you have to have the right conditions or it turns into a nightmare. This is one of those trips where it turned into a nightmare.”
John Roskelley, a former Spokane County commissioner, climbed the 10,810-foot Howse Peak, via a different route, in the 1970s and knows the area well. On Thursday he was preparing to go to Canada to gather Jess Roskelley’s belongings and see if he could access the area safely.
“It’s in an area above a basin,” he said. “There must have been a lot of snow that came down and got them off the face.”
John Roskelley knows the risks of alpinism. During his career as a professional climber he scaled numerous routes on some of the world’s most dangerous peaks.
In 2003, Jess and John climbed Mount Everest together when Jess was 20. At the time, he was the youngest person to climb the world’s highest peak.
The father and son duo continued to occasionally rope up together whether it was ice climbing at Banks Lake in Central Washington or scaling world-class icefalls in the Canadian Rockies. In 2009, Jess and John were forced to huddle together in a snow cave on a steep, icy face during an unexpected night out in negative 10 degree weather when they couldn’t complete a climb of Snow Dome in Alberta’s Columbia Icefields.
“These things happen occasionally when you climb challenging routes,” John told the newspaper at the time.
Jess made a name for himself as a bold and innovative climber. In 2017, he notched the first ascent of the south ridge of Mount Huntington in Alaska. Last year he established several new climbs in the Kondus Valley of northeast Pakistan.
He was named one of the“most adventurous” persons in the world by Men’s Journal last year. And in November he established a new route in the Cabinet Mountains with fellow Spokane climber Scott Coldiron.
In February, John and Jess presented at the Michigan Ice Festival. Roskelley said he’s thankful for the time he spent with Jess, both on the mountain and off.
“One thing about Jess, he was a cutup,” John Roskelley said. “He really enjoyed joking. That’s what most people remember him for. He was just a real character.”
“When you’re climbing mountains, danger is not too far away,” he said. “It’s terrible for my wife and I. But it’s even worse for his wife (Allison).”
“I think it’s really important to say that he was just totally in love with his wife,” John Roskelley said.