Dane Steadman: A Case for Slow and Heavy

Dane Steadman is a rising star in American alpinism, but you wouldn’t know it from his humble, thoughtful attitude. This year, he is being honored with the AAC’s Robert Hicks Bates Award, an accolade that recognizes a young climber who has demonstrated exceptional skill and character in the climbing or mountaineering arts and has outstanding promise for future accomplishment. And Dane really has shown his chops: in 2025, he and his climbing partners Cody Winckler and August Franzen won the Piolet d’Or for their first ascent of Yashkuk Sar. Dane has appeared on The Cutting Edge Podcast twice, once to share about Yashkuk Sar, and another time to elaborate on a first ascent on Huntington—but he has many more tales under his belt, and here at the AAC podcast, we’re lucky enough to get to know him more generally. Today, we dive into Dane’s thoughts on an underrated style of alpinism and how mountain literature has influenced his alpine philosophies. We discuss his recent trip to Peru, and how his repeat of the Fowler/Watts route on Taulliraju in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, with Cody Winkler and Josh Wharton, is an illustration of his recent fascination with the slow and heavy style.