Jack Durrance

Dr. John R. "Jack" Durrance was a pioneering American rock climber and mountaineer.

He learned to climb while attending high school in Germany, and later founded the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club in 1936 while attending college at Dartmouth. Some of his classic first ascents include the North Face of the Grand Teton and the "Durrance Route" on Devil's Tower. His successful completion of the Grand's Exum Ridge and West Face, along with his contributions to the development of bouldering, stand among his other climbing achievements.

In 1939 he attempted to climb K2, the second tallest mountain in the world. He became embroiled in controversy after four members of the expedition died and the expedition leader blamed Durrance. This was cleared up in 1994 when "K2: The 1939 Tragedy" was published. The authors, William Putnam, a former president of the Alpine Club, and Andy Kaufman, a former director, placed responsibility for the deaths on the expedition leader.

During the 1939 climb, Durrance saved the life of an expedition member who was suffering from pulmonary edema. The man's family thanked Durrance by getting him an internship with Dr. James J. Waring, an international expert on tuberculosis. Durrance took the internship and later became a pulmonary physician at a Denver hospital. In addition to climbing and medicine another passion of his was hybridizing irises.

He died on 7 November 2003, aged 91, survived by his widow, Stella Coulter Durrance and their five children.