Charlie Porter

Charlie Porter (June 12, 1950 in Massachusetts – February 23, 2014 in Punta Arenas) was an American mountaineer and climate change scientist. He is best known for his bold first ascents in Yosemite (particularly on El Capitan), Canada and Alaska; and his significant influence on other notable climbers and the climbing community, in part due to his creation and development of innovative climbing equipment. He has also garnered a reputation as an adventurer (he was one of the first people to round Cape Horn in a kayak) and geoscientist in South America.

Porter's notable first ascents on El Capitan include

Prior to the above routes, Porter's 1972 solo ascent of New Dawn (a variation of Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell's Wall of the Early Morning Light) in which he dropped his haul bag early in the route but continued to complete the climb 9 days later, sleeping in slings and an improvised sleeping bag made from ensolite foam, gained him significant notoriety in the climbing community.

In 1979 Porter kayaked around Cape Horn, becoming one of the first people to do so.

Since the 1980s he lived in South America where he continued his spirit of adventure, sailing to remote locations, regularly chartering his yacht and guiding services to marine and climate scientists whose research is based in southern South America.

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