{{Short description|British mountaineer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person |birth_place=London, England |birth_date=1950 |death_date={{Death year and age|1985|1950}} |death_place=Aiguille de Triolet }} '''Roger Baxter-Jones''' (1950 - 1985), was a British mountaineer, skier and alpine guide. He was an early pioneer in Himalayan alpine style ascents of eight-thousander mountains, and a guide in Chamonix, noted for his competence and vast experience.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rose|first=David|date=19 August 1985|title=Reaching the tragic heights of obsession|page=19|work=The Guardian|id={{ProQuest |186695761}}}}</ref> Paul Nunn wrote "One of Britain's leading mountaineers, a member of the ACG Committee for years, and certainly one of the strongest ever, he was a top off-piste skier, and a mountaineer of impeccable judgment, able to guide on routes of the highest standards with a considerable margin."<ref name="Alp-jour">{{cite journal|last1=Nunn|first1=Paul|date=1986|title=In Memoriam|url=https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1986_files/AJ%201986%20264-289%20In%20Memoriam.pdf|journal=Alpine Journal |pages=283–284|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
==Notable ascents== His notable ascents in the French Alps include the second ascent of the Whymper Spur Direct on the Grandes Jorasses with Nick Colton; and the first winter ascent (solo) of the North Face of the Aiguille des Grands Charmoz.<ref name="Alp-jour" /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Scott|first1=Doug|date=1981|title=Asia, Nepal, Makalu Attempt, Makalu II Ascent|url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198124402/Asia-Nepal-Makalu-Attempt-Makalu-II-Ascent|journal=American Alpine Journal|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Scott|first1=Doug|url=https://www.v-publishing.co.uk/books/narratives/shishapangma/|title=Shishapangma The alpine-style first ascent of the south-west face|last2=MacIntyre|first2=Alex|date=24 Nov 2016|publisher=Vertebrate Publishing|isbn=978-1-911342-18-2|pages=250|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
His notable Himalayan ascents include Jannu, Makalu II,<ref>{{Cite news|date=27 October 1980|title=British team scales Himalayan peak|page=13|work=The Times of India|id={{ProQuest |747131555}}}}</ref> Makalu (unsuccessful), Shisha Pangma,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Club|first=American Alpine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tX8uKopy_XUC&q=%22Roger+Baxter-Jones+%22&pg=PA39|title=American Alpine Journal, 1983|date=May 2000|publisher=The Mountaineers Books|isbn=978-0-930410-21-6|language=en}}</ref> Broad Peak, K2 (unsuccessful). Baxter-Jones' golden rule "Come back alive, come back as friends, get to the top — in that order" was well respected amongst elite climbers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Twight|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7N-0rq_f8YC&q=%22Roger+Baxter-Jones+%22&pg=PA78|title=Kiss Or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber|date=2002-01-15|publisher=The Mountaineers Books|isbn=978-0-89886-887-6|language=en}}</ref>
Baxter-Jones climbed with many of the premiere alpinists of his time including Doug Scott (who said of Baxter-Jones: "All the partners I've had who I really rated have gone"), Georges Bettembourg and Alex MacIntyre.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Scott|first=Doug|date=22 March 1992|title=Tiptoeing into the lap of the gods: Interview|page=55|work=The Observer|id={{ProQuest |477502774}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gogorza|first=Óscar|date=2019-12-29|title=El alpinista que no quiso ser oveja|language=es|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/deportes/2019/12/29/actualidad/1577635895_150260.html|access-date=2021-07-12|issn=1134-6582}}</ref>
Baxter-Jones and Scott's ascent of Broad Peak was the subject of the 1984 film ''Himalaya - 8000 mètres sans oxygène'' by Jean Afanassieff.<ref>{{cite web |title=Himalaya - 8000 mètres sans oxygène |url=https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/filmography/roger-baxter-jones |publisher=MNTN Film |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
==Death== He died on 8 July 1985 aged 35 while guiding a client, when a serac collapsed on the north face of the Triolet.<ref name="Alp-jour" />
The Doug Parker and Roger Baxter-Jones Memorial Scholarship was established at the American Mountain Guides Association to honor his memory.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Doug Parker and Roger Baxter-Jones Memorial Scholarship |url=https://amga.com/doug-parker-roger-baxter-jones-memorial-scholarship/ |website=American Mountain Guides Association |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life== Roger Baxter-Jones married Christine Comte, and had a daughter, the actress {{ill|Melanie Baxter-Jones|fr}}.
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter-Jones, Roger}} Category:British mountain climbers Category:1950 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Mountaineering deaths in France Category:Deaths on Mont Blanc Category:20th-century British sportsmen