Time & Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)
Directions: From Highway 101 at Santa Rosa go west on Highway 12 to Stony Point Road Exit. Go straight from the middle lane at the light onto Occidental Road. The Round Table Pizza is on the right just down the road.
Chris Jones is a climbing icon. From pioneering new routes in England and Wales, to an early British ascent of the Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorasses, to climbing many long routes in Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, the Canadian Rockies, Peru and Patagonia, Chris has about done it all. Steve Roper was to write: “His awesome routes in Canada are considered classics to this day.” In 1975 Chris’ “Climbing in North America” was published to wide acclaim. Today, Chris rock climbs as often as his schedule permits. He is a lot slower than he was, but he enjoys the challenge, the outdoors and the companionship just the same.
While San Francisco raved through the summer of love, three rock climbers, a skier and a filmmaker struck out on their own journey. The goal was the ascent of the iconic Cerro Fitz Roy in Patagonia, Chile. This six-month excursion resulted in the formation of a groundbreaking movie and several innovative companies (Patagonia, The North Face, Esprit) and the participants’ lifelong commitment to the environment.
Chris’ book features rare, once-thought-lost photos of the 1968 first ascent of the California Route on Cerro Fitz Roy, the third ascent of the mountain. With accompanying retrospective essays. Climbing Fitz Roy,1968, presents photo documentation of the climb, places it in the social and climbing context of the times, and reflects how this momentous trip influenced the lives of those involved, and in a greater context, the lives of so many others.
Chris will read excerpts from his recently published book, Climbing Fitz Roy 1968 and show the movie “Fitz Roy First Ascent of the Southwest Buttress”. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
