In summer 1999 I met Alex Lowe at the Outdoor Retailers Show in Utah. I knew of Alex and his great accomplishments but never was able to pin him down for a hand shake. Alex and I got into an argument of who was the greatest climber in the world. It was a fun argument but we really got down into depth with it. He would state his case and then I would state mine. We were unable to agree on who we both thought was the greatest climber so we left it as a draw. You see, Alex always believed that the greatest climber in the world was the one that was having the most fun. I of course thought I was having the most fun and he thought the same, but of himself. We shared a drink of water at the water fountain at the back wall near the Verve booth, shook hands and smiled greatly at each other from the fun. I then asked for one more request which was his signature on this magazine picture. I told him that this picture will look great on my wall as him endorsing the fact that I was the greatest. ​

A few months later I heard word that he was killed in an avalanche while climbing a peak named Shishapangma in Southern Tibet. I could not believe it. What a tragedy! I always respected the strength that Alex had as he did 400 pull-ups a day while hanging off of ice axes on a pull-up bar. A few years later I met his young kids and mom while playing around on the bouldering wall at the trade show. I know that his kids will grow up knowing that HE was really the greatest!

Climbing magazine #............. page 121 (signed)
​ Photo by: Kris Erickson