Oliver Perry-Smith

Oliver Perry-Smith (October 11, 1884 in Philadelphia – May 13, 1969^[1]) was an American rock climber, mountaineer and skier who moved to Dresden in 1902 and lived in the area until he returned to the USA in 1914.^[2]

Perry-Smith was "of distinguished ancestry".^[3] His father, also called Oliver Perry-Smith (1860-1899), served in the Spanish-American War and died in Havana from complications of typhoid fever.^[2][4] His mother was Katherine Crosby Beale, the daughter of Truxtun Dixon Beale (1820-1870),^[5] whose grandfather was Thomas Truxtun, one of the first six commanders that President George Washington appointed to the new United States Navy.^[2][6] His relatives also included the newspaper magnate Edward “Ned” Beale McLean who married Evalyn Walsh McLean, the owner of the Hope diamond.^[2]

After his father's death his mother remarried and went to live in Dresden whilst Perry-Smith attended St. Paul's School (as had his father before him). In 1902 he also moved to Dresden where he studied at Dresden's Technische Hochschule (technical university) which later became Dresden University of Technology.^[2]

He became well known in the Sächsische Schweiz for the first ascents of major sandstone rock towers such as:

• Schrammtorwächter (VI) in 1905
• Kanzelturm (VI) in 1905
• Teufelsturm (VIIb) in 1906 (at 5.8+ - with a shoulder stand - a very difficult rock climb)

and first ascents of several climbing routes that are still very popular today, e. g.:

• Spannagelturm Perrykante VIIb in 1906
• Falkenstein Südriss (VIIa) in 1913
• Daxenstein Klavier (VIIa) in 1913
• Daxenstein Perryriss (VIIb) in 1913

(All grades Saxon rating)

Details of his early first ascents on the sandstone spires are included in the climbing guide published by his friend and regular climbing partner Rudolf Fehrmann in 1908, entitled "Der Bergsteiger in der Sächsischen Schweiz".^[7]

En total, "realizó más de 90 ascensos en la Suiza Sajona, 33 de los cuales están clasificados como VI o superior; hubo 32 primeros ascensos, 13 escaladas en solitario y 36 adicionales en las que lideró". ^{[ 3 ]}

En un viaje a los Alpes Dolomitas en 1908, él y Rudolf Fehrmann realizaron varias primeras ascensiones.

• La más famosa es la "Esquina Fehrmann" (en alemán, Fehrmannverschneidung ), V− , en el Campanile Basso , cara suroeste (también conocida como "Guglia di Brenta", en el grupo Brenta en los Dolomitas , el 28 de agosto de 1908). ^{[ 8 ]} A pesar de su nombre, esta ruta de 300 m (980 pies) de longitud fue liderada por Perry-Smith (porque, como se explica en un artículo biográfico en AAJ 1964, "Fehrmann fue el primero en firmar el libro de cumbre y posteriormente fue asumido por escaladores posteriores como líder" ^{[ 2 ]} ).  
• Unas semanas antes habían realizado el primer ascenso de la cara norte de Cima Piccola di Lavaredo , 350 m (1150 pies) V, (en alemán: Kleine Zinne), el 15 de agosto de 1908. ^{[ 9 ] [ 2 ]}  

También fue activo en los Alpes occidentales ; su primera visita allí fue en 1903, cuando escaló con Josef Knubel de St Niklaus (quien no obtuvo su licencia de guía hasta el año siguiente). ^{[ 2 ]} En 1909 unió fuerzas con Geoffrey Winthrop Young , quien lo describió como "uno de los mejores escaladores transatlánticos"; junto con Knubel realizaron el primer ascenso del contrafuerte noreste del Weisshorn el 31 de agosto, ^{[ 10 ] [ 2 ] [ 11 ]} esa ruta todavía se clasifica como TD . ^{[ 12 ]} Sus "ascensos repetidos incluyen también Weisshorn , Matterhorn , Dent Blanche , Zinalrothorn , Wellenkuppe , Obergabelhorn , Kleine Zinne". ^{[ 3 ]}

Beside his achievements in climbing, he was an accomplished skier who competed in both cross-country-skiing and ski-jumping^[2] and won the 8th Austrian ski championship held in 1914.^[13]

In October 1911 he married his wife Agnes (née Adolph) at Schreiberhau (a town which is now in Poland), where their first son was born, also named Oliver Perry-Smith.^[2] Perry-Smith returned to USA with his family in September 1914 and they had 3 more sons. All of the four boys were skiing and ski jumping from an early age and the youngest, Crosby, was part of the 1952 US Olympic Ski Jumping Team in Oslo, Norway, 1952.^[14] Another son, Dixon, married the world figure skating champion Hedy Stenuf.^[15]

Oliver Perry-Smith was elected an Honorary Member of the American Alpine Club.^[16]

There are a number of anecdotes depicting Perry-Smith as a rather unusual character:

• When people doubted his ascent of 'Perryriss', he climbed that route again and wrote in big letters 'Perry' on the rock. (it can still be read today).^[17][18]
• He owned a Bugatti race car and got in trouble with the police several times for driving fast and hazardously.^[2][19][20]
• He was once arrested and then committed for disturbing the peace by threatening people with a pistol in Bad Schandau (a small town close to the sandstone towers that he knew so well).^[21]

• Rudolf Fehrmann

• Proceedings of the Club: Secretary report for the year 1969], AAJ, 1970, pp. 224–226 (Retrieved February 27, 2011)
• Oliver Perry-Smith illustrated biography in the section The Great Pioneers of Modern Rock Climbing (Retrieved February 27, 2011)