Scott wrote:?And who was the biggest climber who was also a politician?
Mark Udall, US senator for Colorado has climbed some serious routes in the Himalaya, including on Kanchenjunga.
He is mentioned in several books on the Himalaya,the AAJ, and is mentioned on the front page of the American Alpine Club website:
http://www.americanalpineclub.org/p/his ... lpine-clubHe may be the "biggest" climber that is currently a US politician.
From Udall's website:
"Mark was born on July 18, 1950, in Tucson, Arizona, but has spent his entire adult life in Colorado. After graduating from Williams College in 1972, he moved to Colorado's Western Slope and began a long and successful career with the Colorado Outward Bound School as a course director and educator from 1975-85 and as the organization’s executive director from 1985-95. Mark is an avid mountaineer and has climbed or attempted some of the world’s most challenging peaks, including Mt. Everest."