Chelsey, you have written a beautiful tribute to your father.

Shannon was my “Tree Guy”for many years.  We always had great conversations about my yard and family and things in general. I was saddened to learn today of his passing. 

Go Rest High On That Mountain

I knew Shannon for 35 years & climbed some hard routes & completed several first ascents together. Beyond his climbing life, Shannon participated in several very difficult caving projects with me. One was a 24 hour trip to the bottom of the dreaded 740 ft deep Dorton Knob Smokehole in Tn, considered one TAG's hardest caves. We were heavily laden prepared to take on a climbing lead at the bottom that unfortunately had collapsed, but we improved the cave by improving anchors on a shale pit deep in the cave & enlarging the miserable tight spot at the bottom of the 300 ft pit. Shannon also participated in the Rich Mtn Blowhole Cave project in the Great Smoky Mountains NP, absolutely one of TAG's most difficult. Shannon went on a 24 hour trip to the bottom of the 850 ft deep cave, from which there is no rescue due to the sinuous small canyon crawls, ascended to the top of the 400 ft plus Wind Dome section of the cave from there, & climbed the last unexplored dome in the cave, a 35 footer we named Stegg Dome & put it on the map. On the trip out, as Shannon & I arrived at the 34 ft entrance pit, I heard fear in Shannon's voice for the only time ever as he informed me that a large snake was ascending the pit with him !

Several weeks later, facing an expiring exploration permit from NPS, a group of hard TAG cavers led by Andy Zellner climbed to the top of Stegg Dome & completely derigged the cave, proclaiming Stegg Dome to be one of the most remote & difficult places to reach on the planet, & leaving a time capsule there.

Thanks for your enthusiastic help Shannon

                             RIP,   ML

I'm not going to be able to make it to the memorial. I've come down with the flu

Met Steggo out on various cliffs where we both were partnered up but often bouldered after last routes of the day into the darkness off and on for years. Believe it was 1984/1985 ice season (fairly sure) when cold weather had really set in and my regular ice partner was out of town. In the 1970s and 1980s was not that many people swinging tools and some ice  climbing partners were like a marriage, had your regular partners and if they couldn't get out then you soloed. It had been cold, my partnes were not going to be around for a while so I made a few calls to be told Shannon Stegg was looking for a Whiteside's partner the next morning and without ever talking to him directly a mutual friend said to meet him in the Whiteside's parking lot before sunrise the next morning.

FootFangs sharpened, Chouinard X tools swapped to fresh pics I found him sleeping in the parking lot. He hopped up, began heating some water saying Mother Russia looked "maybe in" and Starshine was good. We both brewed up, got gear sorted and off we went. Both excited just because we had found someone to rope up with. Kind of feeling like the junior partner I was going along for whatever ride he chose. We hit the top ledge of the north face, rapped to base of Starshine, he took the first pitch and gave me the second. I believe he gave me the best pitch more to see if I could swing a tool and turn a screw than being polite as everyone knows he was always game for the crux pitches, if not every pitch. Climb went smooth as butter plus we meshed like had been swapping pitches for years.

Back at the top we brewed up something hot when he mentioned Starshine and Mother Russia had never been combined in a single day (snargs, Chouinard screws and other gear of the day just took more time) and ropes were still rigged if we wanted to rap back off.

Soon I was beginning pitch one and at the belay was kind of glad pitch two was not mine as Steggo's idea of "it's in" was a little more optimistic than mine. Even by today's standards and tools pitch two was scary to watch. It was not to be the last pitch I would be concerned as Shannon grunted through. We hit the top, got to our packs in full darkness without headlights and I knew I had a new comrade in arms. I paid him back a time or two like returning from Colorado with two pair of these crazy leashless tools and you know he was not going to let me go leashless without grabbing up my spare pair.

Believe I could write a book the length of War & Peace about all the Shannon shenanigans from that day on. Spoke with him less than a week before he led that pitch to Heaven (we spoke of God often and even read scripture together so I know he is waiting) about how tough growing old is and plotted about five easyish F.A.s that we needed to knock out this winter before we got any older.

One thing that sticks out about Shannon is I never heard him say one negative thing about anyone else the first 25 years I climbed with him. Even if he may have not liked someone it wasn't till our late fourties did I hear him voice something negative about another climber. The next weekend I was chopping bolts at Sandrock like they were free. Looks like I will be doing some F.A. ice before heading back to Sandrock. Have Steggo names for the routes we discussed on our last call and a list of routes that need to be returned to heady gear routes instead of clipping a bolt every body length. I am sure he is scouring Heaven for new routes and will have a list for the afterlife ready when he gets the word my turn to follow the pitch he has just led is nigh.

I wanted to share some photos of a trip that Shannon did with my close friends Tracy & Marty back in 2009 in Tuolumne Meadows.  We got a late start driving up from my house in LA and ended up sleeping not far from the base of Cathedral Spire after wandering around for a while looking for a proper place to camp.

Shannon always inspired me with his hardman ground-up approach to climbing and was one of the  humblest and kindest person you'd ever meet.  The climbing community & world will miss you much my friend, but your smile and spirit live on!