John Roskelley (born December 1, 1948) is an American mountain climber and author. He made first ascents and notable ascents of 7,000-meter (22,966 ft.) and 8,000-meter peaks (26,247 ft.) in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. In 2014, he became the 6th winner of the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award.
John Roskelley | |
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Born | Spokane, Washington, U.S. | December 1, 1948
Alma mater | Washington State University (BS) |
Occupation(s) | Mountaineer, author, politician |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Joyce |
Children | 3, including Jess |
Roskelley is an alumnus of Washington State University in Pullman, earning a bachelor's degree in 1971 in geology.[1] He graduated from Shadle Park High School in west Spokane in 1967.[2]
A noted conservationist, Roskelley served as Spokane County Commissioner from 1995 to 2004.[9]
In 2012, Roskelley published Paddling the Columbia: A guide to all 1,200 miles of our scenic and historical river, a guidebook based on his journey by boat from the river’s source in British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean.[10][11]
Roskelley ran for the state senate in 2020,[2] but lost the fourth district election to incumbent Mike Padden.
Roskelley's son Jess (1982–2019) was also a mountain climber; the two successfully summitted Mount Everest together in May 2003.[12][1]
John's father Fenton (1917–2013) was the son of a fly-fishing dentist, lived in rugged central Idaho as a youth (at Challis in Custer County), earned a journalism degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow,[13] and was the longtime outdoor writer for the Spokane Daily Chronicle and The Spokesman-Review newspapers in Spokane.[14][15][16][17] Fenton was married to Violet (1921–2012) for 67 years; she was from Yorkshire, England, and they met in Cornwall while both served during World War II. They married during leave in March 1945, and had three children; John is the middle child and only son.[15][18]