Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Richard K. Irvin papers
- Dates:
- 1951-1999
- Creators:
- Irvin, Richard K. and Irvin, Richard K.
- Abstract:
- Richard K. Irvin (1930-2006) was an American mountaineer.
- Extent:
- 4 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Richard K. Irvin papers (M1122). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Biographical / historical:
-
Born in 1930 in Berkeley, California, Richard Irvin's lifelong dedication to mountains and mountaineering began when he was five and his parents took him on a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada. Later he continued his camping with the Boy Scouts where he became an Eagle Scout. He climbed and hiked on his own throughout the Sierra, making an ascent of Mt. Ritter when he was 15. He started rock climbing with the Sierra Club Rock Climbing Section in 1948 and climbed extensively in Pinnacles National Monument and Yosemite. In 1951, Dick spent the summer vagabonding and climbing in the Tetons and the Canadian Rockies, making several first ascents and new routes. The trip triggered a lifetime of mountaineering around the world. From hikes in the Pennines in England to Rakaposhi and Hidden Peak in the Karakoram, Dick did anything anywhere. He climbed Mt. St. Elias in Alaska and Ararat in Turkey. He did scores of climbs throughout North America and the Alps. He did new routes on Mt. Aspiring and Mt. Cook in New Zealand, and early ascents in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, including the second ascent of Chopicalqui in 1954.
Accounts of his climbs would fill an entire AAJ. Pull out a map of the world and randomly stick a pin in a mountain range. Dick had probably climbed there. Although he was a member of the successful Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) expedition in 1958, he did not get the opportunity to climb high on the mountain because of the early success of the party. But Dick's most remarkable expedition was the four-man attempt on Rakaposhi, 25,550 feet, in 1956. Dick, Bob Swift, Mike Banks, and Hamish Mclnnes tackled that giant with a budget of $5,000. It was an epic. Among other things, everyone fell more than 100 feet at one time or another. Somehow they reached 23,500 feet, a new high point, before having to turn back. Later, when Dick was asked how close they had come to the summit, he immediately replied, "We were $5,000 short."
Dick was also absorbed in the history and literature of mountaineering. With limited resources, he assembled an excellent mountaineering library. Later in life he led trips for Mountain Travel and then took up birding, which he pursued with his usual dedication until his life list included 6,002 species. Dick graduated in 1953 with a degree in anthropology from San Francisco State University. For many years he taught math at Saratoga High School. Irvin died on March 10, 2006 at his home in Boise, Idaho after a long battle with cancer.
-adapted from Nick Clinch's obituary of Irvin for the American Alpine Club https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200747000/Richard-K-Irvin-1930-2006
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Richard K. Irvin, 1999 and 2016. Accessions 2000-073 2016-206.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Mountaineering -- History.
- Names:
- Irvin, Richard K.
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-12-16 10:07:58 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Unprocessed but open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
- Terms of access:
-
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Richard K. Irvin papers (M1122). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Department of Special Collections, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6004, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022