Michael Loughman Obituary

Mike was known in the climbing world for his book published by the Sierra Club in 1981 Learning to Rock Climb. It featured his former wife Amy Fillin Loughman demonstrating how to move over the rock using hand and foot holds. It was the first climbing book that was not focused on gear. His book was named one of the ten best climbing/ mountaineering books of the 20th century, and is credited with encouraging women to take up the sport.
In 1953 Mike got his first climbing lessons at Stoney Point from Royal Robbins. Mike took Galen Rowell on his first backpack trip and on his first rock climb.
Mike was born in Ventura, California to Lawrence and Mary Bubb Loughman. In the then undeveloped town, as a child he enjoyed exploring the hills and ocean. With the Gem and Mineral Society the teenage Mike went out into the desert which influenced him to major in geology at UC Berkeley, from which he received a BA and MA.
Mike continued to enjoy exploring and became active in the Sierra Club Base Camps. In those days the trips had 150 campers, and Mike became a hiking leader. Norman Clyde was a welcome visitor to the camps entertaining around the campfire with his stories.
In his middle years, Mike was an avid backpacker, often going cross-country solo or with his friends Zach Stewart and Annie Somerville from San Francisco, Lorraine Masten and other companions.
Mike is survived by his daughter Heather Loughman (with his first wife Katherine Holden). Heather, who has lived in the Netherlands for 30 years, kept up communication with her father via WhatsApp. Her request is that donations be made to Wildcare Eastern Sierra, P.O. Box 368, Bishop CA 93515.
Mike moved to Bishop from Riverside, CA in 2005, and continued to immerse himself in the mountains. He was the originator and funder of the high school writing contest The Mary Austin Prize for Writing. Mike passed away peacefully on June 18, 2025. He felt the Sierra was his home. In the Sierra he found "Perfect Solitude."