Gary Hemming

Who was Gary Hemming?

Gary Hemming was a noted American mountaineer. Together with Royal Robbins he made the first ascent of the American Direct route on the Aiguille du Dru in Chamonix in 1962, and was widely known in France for his role as a rescuer of a party on the same mountain in 1966, earning him the moniker "le Beatnik".

Hemming was also part of the group which put up the first ascent of the south face of the Aiguille Du Fou a spire of sheer rock long deemed to be unclimbable.

Hemming died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside the Jenny Lake campground in Grand Teton National Park in 1969. Hemming is widely thought to be one of the models for the character named Rand in the James Salter book Solo Faces.