Jonathan Thesenga

Rock Climbing

Hometown

Portland, OR

Resides

Utah Desert

Bio

Jonathan has spent more than 20 years climbing around the world, and has a long thank you list that includes Layton Kor, Yvon Chouinard and the Stonemasters for their early inspiration; the Portland, Oregon gear store where he stole his first harness and climbing shoes; the South Ridge of Mount Superior for providing an after-work outlet and the desert southwest’s incredible sandstone towers.

Career Highlights

Survived teaching himself how to climb in high school
Survived 8 days of free soloing in Siberia
Survived no-chalk-allowed, knots-for-protection spire climbing in Czech Republic and Poland
Survived numerous heinous jobs, including 18 months as a host at Bennigans (in college)
Survived climbing El Cap in a day, three different times
Survived getting married to a gypsy in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve

Survived aid climbing all of the major summits of the Fisher Towers and Mystery Towers
Survived six years of living in Boulder, Colorado
Survived establishing new multi-pitch routes from Oman to Venezuela to Algeria to Sicily
Survived 38 hours of flight time from Salt Lake City to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Survived numerous 5.13 successes
Survived even-more-numerous 5.13 failures

Rock Climbing Ambassadors

Tommy Caldwell View Tommy's Profile

Tommy Caldwell

Tommy blames the suffering in his life on his father. His dad taught him to embrace fear and doubt and turn them into inspiration. Given this attitude, Tommy has established some of the hardest sport routes in the country and free climbed 11 routes on El Cap. He believes the long, difficult journeys with little chance for success teach him the most.
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Sonnie Trotter View Sonnie's Profile

Sonnie Trotter

Sonnie Trotter was 18 when he first traveled to Rifle, Colorado. That trip opened his eyes and he immediately dedicated himself to climbing. His lists of accomplishments encompass all styles of climbing, from deep water soloing to big walls. Highlights include a free ascent of The Prophet on El Capitan and first ascents of Cobra Crack in Squamish and The Shining on Mount Louis.
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Nicolas Favresse View Nicolas's Profile

Nicolas Favresse

Growing up in Brussels, Nicolas bonded to the outdoors through windsurfing, mountain biking and skiing. He started climbing at 15 and immediately found his passion. As an 18-year old exchange student in the United States, he visited Yosemite and discovered a new calling for big walls. Since then he’s climbed big walls in Patagonia, Pakistan, Greenland, Venezuela and Canada.
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Lynn Hill View Lynn's Profile

Lynn Hill

Lynn is a living legend. She started climbing at 14 and excelled immediately and by her late teens she was the first woman to climb 5.12d. In 1993 she changed the definition of what’s possible in rock climbing with her first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan, one of the most important climbing achievements ever. Lynn balances her time between climbing, running, skiing and raising her son.
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Kate Rutherford View Kate's Profile

Kate Rutherford

Kate attributes her love of climbing to the trapeze in their rural Alaskan cabin. Without electricity or running water, she had lots of time to climb and dangle. She officially learned to climb while attending Colorado College, but a visit to Yosemite changed everything. Today, free climbing long crack systems is her passion, which she augments with making jewelry and stints as a fly-fishing guide.
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Majka Burhardt View Majka's Profile

Majka Burhardt

From African rock climbs to mixed routes in New England, Majka finds passion in the moment adventures morph into greater understanding. She’s the author of two books, a filmmaker and a poodle owner. Her first lead fall was onto the smallest Tri-Cam and she’s often more comfortable above a micro-nut than a bolt. She recently moved to North Conway, New Hampshire for love and ice climbing.
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Brittany Griffith View Brittany's Profile

Brittany Griffith

Facts: As a former McDonald’s employee, Brittany served an estimated 12,308 Happy Meals. She has more than 15 years climbing experience. She’s led 5.13 sport and traditional routes and vows someday to lead the gym’s 5.11c purple route! She obsesses over her garden and vacuuming and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She’s climbed in Oman, Morocco, and Russia.
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Ron Kauk View Ron's Profile

Ron Kauk

Ron draws from his wide range of experiences in climbing, which include bouldering (first ascent of Midnight Lightning), long routes (first free ascent of Astroman), and mountaineering (first ascent East Face of Uli Biaho, Pakistan). Ron formed a vision from these experiences, which he turned into Sacred Rok, a nonprofit that seeks the wisdom of nature’s way, bringing young people into the world of Yosemite.
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Timmy O’Neill View Timmy's Profile

Timmy O’Neill

At 19, Timmy left Philadelphia on a Greyhound bus to find a new family with climbers, kayakers and musicians. Since then he’s set world speed climbing records in Yosemite, established new routes in Patagonia, Venezuela and Greenland, and co-founded a non-profit dedicated to providing inspiration, opportunities and adaptive equipment to the disabled community. He currently works as an ophthalmic tech, endeavoring to cure blindness in Africa.
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Jonathan Thesenga View Jonathan's Profile

Jonathan Thesenga

Jonathan has spent more than 20 years climbing around the world, and has a long thank you list that includes Layton Kor, Yvon Chouinard and the Stonemasters for their early inspiration; the Portland, Oregon gear store where he stole his first harness and climbing shoes; the South Ridge of Mount Superior for providing an after-work outlet and the desert southwest’s incredible sandstone towers.
View Jonathan's Profile
Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll View Sean's Profile

Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll

Sean believes he didn’t choose to climb – climbing chose him. He considers his first expedition to Patagonia as a turning point in his life because he felt utterly connected with the forces of nature and the adventure of just being alive. Climbing teaches Sean to live life to the fullest and that he can do whatever he wants if he puts his mind to it.
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Mikey Schaefer View Mikey's Profile

Mikey Schaefer

Since he was 13, Mikey’s had a passion for rock climbing and a love of photography. Raised in Western Washington, his home crag of Index taught him to stand on imaginary foot holds and watch for moments of exquisite light that create the perfect photograph. He’s climbed and made images around the world, but he always returns to the place he calls home – Yosemite.
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Jasmin Caton View Jasmin's Profile

Jasmin Caton

After a childhood of playing ukulele and attending Mathlete competitions, Jasmin caught the climbing bug at age 19, packed her Chevy Corsica and moved to Squamish. Nowadays, when she’s not on a climbing trip she’s guiding rock on impeccable Squamish granite or guiding backcounry skiing in blower powder at Valhalla Mountain Touring along with husband Evan and powder hound Benny.
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