Steve House began venturing into the high mountains as a teenager, and has since built a career on climbing, guiding and coaching. By the time he published his book Beyond the Mountain in 2009, Reinhold Messner said House was “at the top of mountaineering.”
House’s life in climbing has taken him all over the world. His most famous ascent may be the Central Pillar of Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face, a climb he completed with Vince Anderson. But he has compiled an impressive list of first ascents and new routes in Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, the Alps and the Karakoram. Steve has been a professional mountain guide since 1992, and in 1999 he became the ninth American to achieve IFMGA certification.
But these days House lives in a small Austrian mountain town with his wife and two kids. In the mornings he spends time getting outside, while the later part of the day is dedicated to working with his company Uphill Athlete. He retired from professional climbing in 2020.
In this episode, we revisit passages from Steve’s book Beyond the Mountain, discuss fatherhood, and finding his way in his new home in Austria. We learn about the climb that drove him to focus more on training and preparation, and eventually led him to start his company, Uphill Athlete. And, we learn more about how he thinks about climbing and what it is to be human—to focus on the act of becoming rather than being.
Support for this episode of the Alpinist Podcast comes from Osprey.
Alpinist Magazine: Website | Instagram | Facebook
Host: Abbey Collins
Guest: Steve House
Producer + Engineer: Mike Horn
Graham Zimmerman's Balancing Act
The Many Facets of Len Necefer
Climbing and Journalism with Lauren DeLaunay Miller
Unpacking Packing with Sarah Pickman
Writing and Routes with David Smart
Racing Fear with Justin Bowen
Aiming for the Bushes with Alan Rousseau
Climbing for Change: Caroline Gleich
Talking Schist with Andrea Charest
Connected to Place: Sarah Audsley
Beyond Success and Failure: Young Hoon Oh
The Art of Playing: Babsi Vigl
Heart of the Sierra: Doug Robinson
Creativity and Climbing: Nikki Smith
Of Peaks and Parenting: Majka Burhardt
Braving New Worlds: Steph Davis
Honoring Mountains and Mentors: Clint Helander
Dreaming of Imaginary Peaks: Katie Ives
A Life of Adventure and Positive Impact: Timmy O’Neill
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The MeatEater Podcast
Bear Grease
Wired To Hunt Podcast
The Southern Outdoorsmen Hunting Podcast
Cal of the Wild