Craig Luebben
Craig Luebben was an American rock climber and author.
Luebben was born in Iowa and moved to Colorado at age seven, where he cultivated his love of the outdoors. A climber since the early 1980s, Luebben wrote a number of climbing-oriented books, and designed the wide-crack climbing protection device–now manufactured by Trango–as part of obtaining his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University, and was a senior contributing editor for Climbing Magazine.
Luebben made many first ascents in the United States and abroad, including China, Madagascar, Puerto Rico and France. Luebben was a mountain guide with the American Mountain Guides Association and instructor.
"Craig was a 5.12 climber in that he could likely onsight any 5.12 on the planet."
Death
Craig Luebben was killed on August 9, 2009, in an accident while climbing on Mount Torment in the Cascade Range of Washington. A car-size block of ice calved off, taking Craig with it and resulting in a fall. While not struck by the initial block, Craig was pelted by debris as he hung from his rope.After his death, the American Mountain Guides Association established the Craig Luebben Education Fund in his honor to provide scholarships for new mountain guides.