Royal Robbins remembered for his perseverance, preservation and kindness
Royal Robbins scaled many heights over his 82 years, often in Yosemite National Park, not far from his Modesto home.
And he admitted to looking ragged during some of those adventures, which inspired the outdoor clothing business that bears his name.
Robbins, who died Tuesday, stood among the greats in the history of climbing. He pioneered several routes and advocated for techniques that did not damage the rocks.
He and wife Liz launched Royal Robbins Inc., after surmounting one famous peak in 1967 and realizing that their cutoff jeans and other attire were not up to snuff.
“When we got to the top of Half Dome, a tourist took our camera and agreed to take a photo of us as we stood there,” Liz said in a video about the company, now owned by a private equity firm in New York City. “When we looked at that picture, we said, maybe we’d better get in the clothing business.”
Robbins died at his home of progressive supranuclear palsy, a brain disease, daughter Tamara Robbins said. His burial will be private, but the family is planning a public tribute at a date to be announced.
“Royal was physically strong and he was intellectually powerful,” an email from his daughter said. “But Royal’s most outstanding characteristic was not his physical strength nor his powerful intellect. Royal’s most outstanding characteristic, at the core of all his achievements, was the immense strength of his will.”
Robbins was born in West Virginia on Feb. 3, 1935, and moved as a boy to Los Angeles. His yen for adventure began early, according to “To Be Brave,” the first volume of an autobiography released in 2010. While still in elementary school, he traveled hundreds of miles from home by jumping trains and hitching rides.
Robbins told The Modesto Bee that he decided at 15 to take up climbing. After Army service and a brief banking job, he threw his whole life into it.
“Danger’s important,” he said. “You need it. It’s good for you. It makes you more alive.”
Robbins wrote two technical books — “Basic Rockcraft” and “Advanced Rockcraft” — which together sold more than 400,000 copies. In his 40s, he took up kayaking and made the first descents of several rivers in the Sierra Nevada.
“He basically set the world on fire in big-wall climbing and whitewater rafting,” fellow adventurer Ray Klabanow of Modesto said Wednesday. They met in the 1970s, when Kablanow had a Southern California outdoors store that sold Royal Robbins products.
Kablanow and Adrain Crane of Modesto, an accomplished mountain climber, both noted Robbins’ use of devices that could be removed from the walls.
“He was interested in preserving the rock, to not use devices that destroy the rock,” Crane said. “If people were still using hammers and pitons, there would be a heck of a lot of damage.”
Crane also noted Robbins’ enthusiasm for teaching climbing to Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts on small walls around Pinecrest.
“That was pretty special for the kids to be involved with someone of his ilk,” he said.
Royal and Liz Robbins ran the clothing company while raising daughter Tamara and son Damon. They sold it to Modesto entrepreneur Dan Costa in 2001. It now is one of many holdings of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. but maintains its headquarters and a store in Modesto along with a Berkeley store and online sales.
About 40 people work in management, distribution and retail in Modesto. Among them is Loren White, who started in 1973 and now is director of operations.
“Royal was always a very thoughtful thinker,” he said. “He always tried to encourage everybody to do their best.”
Robbins talked in the company video about how his mountain exploits meshed with his entrepreneurial spirit: “What I learned from climbing, in the sense of attitude and the sense of perseverance, I could apply directly to business.”
The family suggests donations in Robbins’ memory to the Boy Scouts Greater Yosemite Council, Central West Ballet or the Yosemite Climbing Association.
UP FIRST
Royal Robbins achieved these milestone in rock climbing history:
1950: First climb, Stony Point in San Fernando Valley.
1952: First ascent Tahquitz Open Book (First 5.9 climb in U.S.)
1957: First ascent Northwest Face of Half Dome, Yosemite.
1961: First ascent Salathe Wall of El Capitan, Yosemite
1962: First ascent North Wall of Sentinel Rock, Yosemite
1963: First ascent Direct Northwest Face Half Dome, Yosemite
1967: First new route in Yosemite using only chocks and natural runner (Nutcracker)
1967: Wife Liz Robbins first woman to climb NW Face of Half Dome.
1968: First solo ascent of El Capitan.
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Royal Robbins remembered for his perseverance, preservation and kindness."