Robert Secor, a Sierra legend

Robert Secor, listed as R.J. Secor on the cover of his books, became a legend after the publication of “The High Sierra - Peaks Passes and Trails” in 1992. That book quickly became the “Bible” of mountain hiking in the Sierra Nevada of California, the region that goes (roughly) from Mt Whitney to Lake Tahoe. Secor described hundreds of routes and provided dozens of black and white pictures. The Web was still in its infancy and countless hikers had those pages to guide them to the most famous summits of California. Despite the details, his book was the source of (affectionate) frustration and jokes among his readers for understatements such as “Ascend the third chute from the north” or “Follow the obvious ramp on the left” and the most notorious of all, “It’s an easy scramble to the top”, which were classic cases of “easier said than done”. But, with enough time and patience, his directions almost always worked. One can estimate that Secor climbed more than 300 Sierra mountains using more than 700 different routes. He was known as a minimalist who carried only the essential gears, and most times even less than that. He was also known as an encyclopedia of Sierra climbing history. Secor also traveled to Mexico (where he lived for one year) and South America to climb the most famous mountains there, and also published “Mexico’s Volcanoes:” “Aconcagua” and “Denali Climbing Guide.” Secor was born in 1956. He lived with his parents in Pasadena, and, after his father’s death, with his aging mother. His job was to manage the family’s rental properties. This relatively simple life allowed him to spend so much time on the mountains. He was involved in the Los Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club for more than 30 years. In April 2005 he got seriously injured while glissading down Mt Baldy. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, of course. He was diagnosed with fractures to his skull, ribs, and shoulder blade. After the accident Secor became even more of a recluse than before. He also contracted pneumonia. He had difficulties not only walking but also speaking. He improved over the years until he suffered a second head injury (in his own backyard). He died in October 2017.