Big Mountain, Little Steps

Steve House cemented his status as one of the world's best mountain climbers last September in Pakistan, when he and a partner reached the top of Nanga Parbat via a new route up the Rupal Face, a 14,000-foot vertical wall of rock, snow and ice considered the largest and highest relief in the world. As extraordinary as that was, what really sets House apart in the testosterone fueled sport of climbing is his humility. "There's a certain sense, in my specialty world, that what I'm doing is unique. But my experience -- what I'm feeling -- is no different than what other people feel when they do something that, to them, is difficult or a defining moment in their life." House credits his climbing success not to natural ability, but to hard work and sacrifice. According to House, "The simpler you make something, the richer the experience."

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