From Childhood in Exile to the USSR’s Highest Climbing Honor, He Defined a Generation of Mountaineering

Every January, we share a tribute to members of our community who we lost last year. Some were legends, others were pillars of their community, all were climbers. Read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2025 here.

Vatslav Ruzhevsky, 90, June 1

Vatslav Ruzhevsky was one of Russia’s leading alpinists in the late and post-Soviet era. The American climbing pioneer George Lowe climbed extensively with Ruzhevsky during a cross-cultural exchange trip to the USSR in the 1970s. Even a half-century later...