A Climber We Lost: Iker Bilbao
Iker Bilbao, 29, January 19
You can read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2023 here.
Basque climber Iker Bilbao died in an avalanche on January 19 along with his climbing partner Amaia Agirre as the pair descended from Fitz Roy/Cerro Chaltén in Patagonia. The third member of their team, Josu Linaza, narrowly survived the slide. Iker’s younger brother Aitor described him as a supremely talented alpine climber with infectious enthusiasm and boundless stoke, taken from the world far too soon.
Born September 5, 1993, in the small Biscayan Basque town of Durango, Iker Bilbao was connected with the mountains since he was a child, said Aitor. The brothers’ parents took them out into the mountains from a young age, and as a teen Iker began rock climbing in the Atxarte Valley and nearby Urkiola Natural Park.
Bilbao grew up to be a firefighter, a trade which allowed him to combine his two passions: helping people at work and climbing in his free days, Aitor said. “Since I was a child, I have admired Iker. … He taught me everything I know about climbing, and is the reason I started climbing a couple of years ago.”
Bilbao progressed from rock to other disciplines, climbing ice in the Aosta Valley and Briançon, and alpine-rock lines in Chamonix. He was especially proud of the climbs he did with his brother, such as Aiguille du Grépon (11,424ft), Grand Capuccin (12,592ft), and Petit Jorasses (12,001ft). “He led all the pitches because I had just started climbing,” Aitor recalled. “What a beast!”
In August of 2022, Bilbao traveled to the United States with another partner, where the pair tackled technical routes on the Incredible Hulk (11,300ft) and Mt. Whitney (14,505ft) in the Sierras, then traveled to Yosemite where they completed the classic Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome (VI 5.9 C1 2,200ft) in a day. “He was a very good alpine climber,” said Aitor, “and speedily growing in his skill.”
Shortly before their deaths in Patagonia, Bilbao and Agirre had climbed Aguja de l’S (7,644ft) with Linaza. When they died, they had just summited Chaltén via the 5,000-foot Afanassieff (5.10b) and had descended via the Franco-Argentina, ultimately rappelling La Brecha de los Italianos—a notoriously loose gully—to the glacier below. The team had paused on the glacier below to reorganize their kit when they were struck by an avalanche released from the slopes above. The resulting slide swept Bilbao and Agirre into a crevasse.
Aitor spoke of a brother who was loved by all in his orbit. “Iker climbed mountains, but conquered hearts,” he said. “My brother had the gift of caring for and helping whoever was next to him. What a joy it was to be at his side, how easy it was to be infected by his enthusiasm, his motivation. Iker was pure energy. A true inspiration of joy for life.”
This enthusiasm, Aitor said, is not lost with his passing, but instead “has been deeply rooted in those who loved him. I am so grateful for every second I was on the other end of his climbing rope and for every lesson I learned.”
Aitor recalled the night his brother left to fly to Patagonia. “When we said goodbye, he told me, with his usual enthusiasm, that we would go climbing when he came back. For sure we will, for he is part of me now. My brother, my friend, my master. My inspiration.”
In addition to Aitor, Iker Bilbao is survived by his mother, Karmele Ortega, father, Iñaki, and girlfriend Elene.
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