When a legendary climber faces the walls with total respect for the mountain itself and for the environment in which it is inserted, when he refuses any means that could negatively affect the relationship with the mountain, when the love of nature makes him feel "rock, wind and rain", then a new environmentalist is born.

The legendary climber of Yosemite is Ron Kauk was born in Redwood City, California on September 23, 1957. At the age of 14, Ron participated in a 20-day backcountry experience organized by his school.

For the fun of it, one of the adults had bet a smoothie for whoever was able to complete a difficult climb, which Ron successfully won.

Pierced by the beauty of climbing and encouraged by role models in the rock climbing community in Yosemite, Ron had to choose whether to continue his formal education or transfer it in a different place. He chose the path of nature and moved to Yosemite at the age of 17.

At the climbers' camp in Yosemite Valley, known as Camp 4, Ron was surrounded by a community of like-minded individuals seeking meaning in the vertical challenges of granite walls, walls sculpted by the forces of nature.

The successes Ron's in climbing were many, but all involved expanding horizons in the activity. Among the most iconic results is a boulder problem in the middle of field 4 known as Midnight Lightning.

Another very famous ascent is Astroman, which is located on the east face of the Washington Column below the North Dome. Yet another, Magic Line, is a very thin crack located on the right hand side of Vernal Falls that Ron considers one of his "successful in life" climbs due to its difficulty.

Ron has been working in more recent years to express his appreciation for Yosemite. He actively engaged with the Native American community that rightfully has a spiritual and historical connection with Yosemite.

He spent summers as a volunteer at Tuolumne Meadows camp providing firewood for the ranger camp, arranging housekeeping and reminding visitors through countless conversations of the beauty of Yosemite.

During the summers at Tuolumne Meadows, Ron repeats his many familiar climbs and boulders, renewing his appreciation for every single crack, knot and surface smoothed by the glacier that represents the engravings of geology.

It's like a scholar reading ancient manuscripts, looking for indecipherable references and hidden meanings.

Smell the wind, appreciate the storms, the sun and the flow of cascading rivers. Our awareness of these elements is the key to our understanding of the human condition.

Life and nature are great teachers and offer many paths of insight, inspiration and appreciation. For Ron, it's a simple summary: "Take care of nature and nature will take care of you".

Machine translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.

Info: Sacred rok