Doug Robinson

Doug Robinson, 63, is Chief Guide at Moving Over Stone. He is a professional mountaineer known internationally for his climbing, guiding, and ski mountaineering, as well as his poetic writings about the mountains and why we climb them. Doug is a fully certified Rock and Alpine guide with 40 years of experience. He has taught corporate groups and guided individuals across the country and around the world. Doug likes introducing climbers, new as well as experienced, to Silicon Valley's own Castle Rock, where he began 43 years ago, and to his favorite spots in the High Sierra, where he has been called "the modern John Muir." Highlights from Doug's career:

"The father of Clean Climbing."—Climbing Magazine 
Doug cut his teeth on Yosemite granite during the Valley’s Golden Age in the sixties, a time when all the climbers in Yosemite could fit around one campfire. Doug led the “Clean Climbing” revolution, which eliminated hammer-driven pitons that damaged even hard granite. The revolution culminated in Doug’s 1973 first clean ascent of the face of Half Dome, which was chronicled in National Geographic, June 1974. Now you can learn clean anchoring and protection techniques from the master.

"Best selling rock video of all time"
We named our company Moving Over Stone after Doug's 1988 video, as a reminder that it's not the static cling and dangle but fluid movement between stances that reveals the dynamic heart of climbing. Call us for a sample copy to preview our guiding style.

“John Muir meets Jack Kerouac”—William Broyles, Jr., reviewing Doug’s book A Night on the Ground, A Day in the Open, Doug’s writings about climbing have appeared in national Magazines like Outside and Men’s Journal and Climbing for decades. He has influenced generations of climbers with not only the techniques of climbing, but its spirit.

“Le Visionaire”
Doug has been greeted on the streets of Chamonix as the author of “the Climber as Visionary,” a widely anthologized and translated article that lays out the brain chemistry behind the high that comes from climbing. He leads Climber as Visionary Seminars that will encourage the visionary dimension in your climbing.

BACK