Alexis Kelner, the last surviving founder of Save Our Canyons and a decades-long advocate for Wasatch wilderness, died Sept. 23 at age 87. His son, Eric, and close friends were at his side.

Save Our Canyons announced Kelner's death in a digital memorial published Oct. 14. The organization, which advocates for the Wasatch canyons that border Millcreek, called Kelner "a longtime friend, advocate, mentor, and an important part of the organization's history and spirit."

Kelner co-founded Save Our Canyons in 1972 with Gale Dick and Floyd Sweat.

He was the group's last remaining founder.

From displaced-persons camp to the Wasatch

Born Dec. 14, 1938, in Riga, Latvia, Kelner's early years were shaped by World War II. His family fled Latvia and lived in a displaced-persons camp in Germany before immigrating to Salt Lake City in 1950, according to his obituary in The Salt Lake Tribune. He was 11.

He learned to climb in the camp. After arriving in Utah, he joined the Wasatch Mountain Club around 1956 and threw himself into the mountains.

In May 1958, Kelner, Cal Giddings and Dick Bell established the first technical climbing route on Lone Peak's South Summit Wall, according to a climbing history published on Medium. The trio drove Kelner's jeep up a newly discovered trail, then climbed using a mix of aid and free climbing. They returned that summer to forge a second route, The Merciful Traverse, summiting after an 11-hour climb at dusk.

According to his obituary, Kelner carried 25-30 pounds of large-format camera equipment on ski tours and hikes, long before lightweight digital gear made backcountry photography common.

Conservation legacy

Kelner's climbing and ski touring through the 1960s convinced him that development was creeping too close to the peaks. In 1965, he and Giddings urged the U.S. Forest Service to use the recently passed Wilderness Act to protect Lone Peak. Thirteen years later, the mountain became Utah's first congressionally designated wilderness area.

He opposed ski-area expansions, the use of public money for Olympic development and mining on public lands near the Wasatch Front, according to his obituary. The obituary described his style as combining deep knowledge of the range with "an ability to recognize contradiction and expose it with understated humor."

With co-author David Hanscom, Kelner published Wasatch Tours in 1976, the first backcountry ski guidebook for the range. The series eventually grew to three volumes covering the entire Wasatch. He published Skiing in Utah: A History in 1980.

Remembering Kelner

Jack Stauss, executive director of Save Our Canyons, wrote in the memorial that he had spent time with Kelner at his home over the past year, going through Kelner's personal archive. "It is hard to emphasize how important Alexis has been to the Salt Lake community over the last 65 years," Stauss wrote.

Kelner was also an accomplished scientific illustrator whose work appeared in college science textbooks at the University of Utah.

He met his wife, Karla, while both worked at Saltair in 1957. They married in 1959. Karla died in 2019. Kelner is survived by his son, Eric Kelner; daughter-in-law Kristi Clark; and granddaughter Calista.

Save Our Canyons has established the Alexis Kelner Legacy Fund to continue his advocacy work. The Wasatch Mountain Club also administers the Alexis Kelner Conservation Award, which in November 2024 went to the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance for its stewardship of Wasatch climbing resources.