The Life Between Climbs with Scott Backes

Steve sits down with longtime climbing partner Scott Backes for a conversation that moves far beyond typical adventure storytelling. Scott traces his path from rebellious Minnesota teenager to respected amateur alpinist, describing his 1980 baptism in the Canadian Rockies—soloing the West Shoulder Direct on Andromeda, climbing new routes on Mount Temple, and surviving desperate bivouacs on Kitchener's North Face. Rather than move west like most ambitious climbers, he deliberately stayed in Minneapolis, unwilling to surrender his identity to climbing's tribal pressures.

The conversation takes an unflinching turn when Scott discusses growing up with a narcissistic father whose contempt taught him to hate himself. He credits climbing's hero's journey—and discovering he could trust and love his partners—with his path toward self-acceptance. This leads to what he considers his greatest contribution: normalizing emotional vulnerability among male alpinists. He was the first man outside Steve's family to tell him "I love you," helping transform the culture of their tight-knit circle.

Both reflect on the challenge of returning from transcendent mountain experiences to ordinary life, and on their 2000 ascent of the Slovak Direct on Denali. Steve recalls a pivotal granite pitch climbed in darkness where he felt, for the first time, genuinely connected to others in something "almost religious." When asked how he wants to be remembered, Scott's answer is direct: as the person who brought the word love to hard-ass alpinists, and as an imperfect person who tried to understand himself.

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