Jess Roskelley
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July 13, 1982
 Jess Roskelley near the summit of the Citadel during the first ascent of the Hypa Zypa Couloir, Alaska Range | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jess Fenton Roskelley July 13, 1982 Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | April 16, 2019 (aged 36) Howse Peak, Alberta, Canada |
| Education | University of Montana |
| Occupation(s) | Welder, mountaineer |
| Climbing career | |
| Type of climber | Sport climbing, bouldering, mountaineering |
| Highest grade | |
| Known for | Youngest American to reach the summit of Everest (2003) after Jordan Romero |
Jess Fenton Roskelley (July 13, 1982 – April 16, 2019) was an American mountaineer. On May 21, 2003, at age twenty, he became the youngest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He died in an avalanche while climbing on Howse Peak in the Canadian Rockies.[1]
Roskelley was born on July 13, 1982, and raised in Spokane, Washington,[2][3] where he attended Mt. Spokane High School.[4] He was the son of mountaineer John Roskelley and Joyce Roskelley, a teacher. He later moved to Montana to attend the University of Montana.[5]
Career
Roskelley began his career in mountain climbing as a guide on Mount Rainier. He passed the Rainier Mountain Guides exam at the age of eighteen,[6][better source needed] and by the age of twenty (in 2003) he had reached the summit 35 times as a guide.[7]
In March 2003, Roskelley and his father, mountaineer John Roskelley, traveled to Mount Everest as members of an expedition named "Generations on Everest". The expedition marked Jess's first attempt at the Everest summit, while it was his father's fourth attempt, having failed on three attempts earlier in his career.[8] Father and son successfully reached the summit on May 21, 2003, at which time Jess Roskelley, at the age of 20, became the youngest American to have reached the summit of Mount Everest .[8] In 2010, this record was surpassed by Jordan Romero, who summited Mount Everest at the age of 13.[9]
Roskelley later while living in Spokane divided his time in Alaska between climbing and working as a tank welder.[10] In October 2012, he and John Frieh climbed a new route on Mount Wake in the Alaska Range. They called the route The Cook Inlet.[11] In April 2013, Roskelley, Ben Erdmann and Kristoffer Szilas forged a new route on the Citadel, a peak in the Kichatna Mountains of Alaska. The route, which is next to Supa Dupa Couloir, was named Hypa Zypa Couloir.[12]
