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Ian McRae
Ian McRae was interviewed on August 19, 2000 by Dave Krupa at Krupa's cabin outside Fairbanks, Alaska. Ian provides a wonderful and entertaining window into the "Fairbanks climbing scene," carrying on an eccentric and decades old Fairbanks tradition of pioneering "sloggers" who get up routes via low tech approaches and more grit than gear. He reflects not only on numerous memorable climbs, personages, and epics, but also on the philosophical "games climbers play" in the pursuit of their distinctly hazardous adventures. He broaches the topics of synchronicity, intuition, and even spiritual elements of climbing - often felt, but seldom explicitly expressed by fellow climbers.
Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 2000-17-26
Project: Denali Mountaineering
Date of Interview: Aug 19, 2000
Narrator(s): Ian McRae
Interviewer(s): David Krupa
Location of Interview:
Location of Topic:
Funding Partners:
National Park Service
Alternate Transcripts
There is no alternate transcript for this interview.
After clicking play, click on a section to navigate the audio or video clip.
Sections
1) Getting into climbing at a young age in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
2) Deciding to stop playing soccer and go climbing in the the High Sierras
3) Learning to climb in the California mountains
4) His first trip to Alaska trying to climb Mt. Foraker
5) Attempting the West Buttress instead of Mt. Foraker
6) Meeting Randy Waitman who was planning a climb of Mt. Kimble
7) Flying into the glacier on the approach to Mt. Kimble
8) Perfect conditions on the winter climb of Mt. Kimble
9) The long ski out down the Canwell Glacier
10) Finding a cabin at the bottom of the Chistochina
11) The earthquake on the Mt. Foraker trip
12) Being woken up by the rumbling of an earthquak.
13) The geese flying the wrong direction after the earthquake
14) Halting a spring climb in the Talkeetna Mountains
15) Conclusions of the raven story and introducing McGinnis Peak
16) Approaching McGinnis Peak and finding a huge ice cavern
17) Being in the ice cavern on McGinnis Peak and going back a second time
18) Being buried in the high cave on McGinnis Peak
19) Motivating to get out of the cave
20) Spending four days in the ice cave on McGinnis Peak
21) Finding spirituality in the cave and the weather clearing on the fifth day
22) Recovering from the fall and down climbing back to the cave
23) The missing skis in the Valley of Death
24) The crevasse fall and the avalanche in the Valley of Death
25) Commentary on rescues
26) The organization of a rescue
27) Writing as his mentor and relationships with the mountains
28) Philosophical discussion on writing and contributing
29) The evolution of humans
30) The progression of climbing with age
31) The lessons from climbing applying to real life and his mentor Tom Walter
Click play, then use Sections or Transcript to navigate the interview.
After clicking play, click a section of the transcript to navigate the audio or video clip.
Transcript
Section 1: Californian\ climbing\ parents -- backpackers\ Sierra Nevada Mountains\ first ascent -- attempt\ peak -- number\ Bishop Pass\ summit\ parents -- supportive\ climbing schools|
Section 2) soccer\ thighs -- big, heavy\ climb\ music -- Led Zeppelin\ music -- Supertramp\ Kauk, Ron\ Backer, John\ Beckenbauer, Franz\ Memorial Stadium -- Berkeley\ Memorial Stadium -- crack\ Yosemite National Park\ Sierra Nevada Mountains\ El Capitan\ Alaska|
Section 3: Yosemite -- lifestyle\ climbing\ belts -- swamy\ harness\ nuts\ camming devices\ Chouinard, Yvon -- theorem\ climbing -- medium\ rock climbing\ ice climbing\ California\ waterfalls -- frozen\ alpine climbing\ Palisades School of Mountaineering\ storms -- lightening\ avalanches\ skiing\ Donner party\ college -- graduation\ expedition -- Alaska\ T-shirts -- sell\ Mt. Foraker|
Section 4: T-shirts -- sell\ Mt. Foraker\ Kahiltna Glacier\ Bocarde, Gary\ avalanche\ route\ Sultana Ridge\ Southeast Ridge -- Mt. Foraker\ Alaska -- first climb\ climbing -- snow\ Shakespeare -- King Lear\ college -- finals\ Talkeetna, AK\ dissertation\ rope\ Harris, Alex\ National Outdoor Leadership School\ snow pit\ avalanche -- danger|
Section 5: partner -- weakness\ steps\ Harris, Alex\ Mt. St. Augustine\ ash layer\ snow -- depth hoar\ West Buttress\ ?, Dmitri\ basecamp -- Mt. Foraker\ tent\ pilots\ stories -- rookie\ brain -- swelling\ high camp\ gloves\ pills\ Tejas, Vern\ Mt. McKinley|
Section 6: Alaska -- living\ El Capitan\ Mt. Kimble\ Waitman, Randy\ Wood Center -- University of Alaska, Fairbanks\ grant\ Alaskan Alpine Club\ Wumpkees, ?\ Southwest Rib -- Mt. Kimble\ Fairbanksans\ gendarme\ aid -- rotten rock\ aid -- pickets\ gear\ freedom|
Section 7: Waitman, Randy\ King Lear\ trust\ Mat-Su Valley, AK\ partners -- three\ Turecki, Paul\ Alaskan Alpine Club -- board members\ Waterman, John\ winter climb\ Alaska Range\ Wheeler, Harvey\ Sawmill Creek Air\ Chistochina Glacier\ snow\ mountain walls\ Mt. Kimble\ ice fall\ bivouac|
Section 8: seracs\ Alaska Range -- conditions\ snow -- stable\ pickets\ rime\ moonlight\ Mt. Kimble\ bivouac\ snow caves\ high pressure -- winter\ Turecki, Paul\ rock band\ golf ball -- cornice\ gendarme\ tools\ Waitman, Randy\ summit -- rime tower\ rappel -- dark\ anchor -- mud\ bivy|
Section 9: White Noise\ snowcave\ Mt. Kimble\ storm\ oxygen\ Dunlop, Duff\ shovel -- metal\ medical kit\ ski\ Richardson Highway\ Canwell Glacier\ white-out\ winds\ Chistochina Glacier\ temperature\ cabin|
Section 10: Alaska -- dark\ temperature\ cabin\ wood\ stove\ food\ whiskey\ pornography\ Mt. Kimble\ mental -- freezing\ houses\ cars\ girlfriend\ Fairbanks, AK\ winter\ spring\ Mt. Foraker\ Waitman, Randy|
Section 11: earthquake -- 6.1 magnitude\ Chilatna Lake -- epicenter\ mountains\ aftershocks\ geese -- flock\ South Wall -- Mt. Foraker\ Waitman, Randy\ climb\ Talkeetna Ridge -- Mt. Foraker\ camp\ ledge\ cornice\ avalanches\ bivouac -- open|
Section 12: tent\ camp\ valley\ aretes -- rock\ earthquake\ avalanches\ slab -- loose\ mountains\ cornice\ rope -- tie-in\ granite\ sleep -- roped\ whiskey\ California\ boots|
Section 13: carabiners\ boots\ tent\ aftershocks\ mountains -- swaying\ weather -- break\ earthquake\ climbing\ Waitman, Randy\ rope\ geese\ clouds\ Infinite Spur\ Mt. Foraker\ springtime|
Section 14: raven\ climbing -- snow\ Talkeetna Mountains\ couloir -- snow\ aurora\ Farmer's Almanac\ avalanche\ mountain\ ledge -- granite|
Section 15: raven\ snow conditions\ chance\ McGinnis Peak\ Hayes Range\ ski\ Benowitz, Jeff\ Mt. McKinley|
Section 16: Benowitz, Jeff\ ski\ climb -- spring break\ Northeast Ridge -- McGinnis Peak\ McGinnis Glacier\ Valley of Death\ Southeast Ridge -- McGinnis Peak\ Northeast Ridge -- saddle\ ice cavern\ bivy\ bergschrund\ wind\ snow\ snowblocks\ wall -- construction\ bouldering\ crevasses\ defecation|
Section 17: wind\ cave\ mountain\ climb\ McGinnis Peak\ Valdez, AK\ high pressure -- winter\ clothing\ gear -- warm\ summit|
Section 18: mountain\ McGinnis Peak\ wind\ cave -- high\ Sprout, Tim -- KUAC\ lighter -- distended\ oxygen\ snow -- tunneling\ buried\ drift zone|
Section 19: adrenaline -- motivation\ shovel\ storm\ supplies\ fuel\ Northwest Ridge -- McGinnis Peak\ food\ ridge -- technical\ rope\ snow\ ice\ wind\ ice slope|
Section 20: food\ fuel\ cave\ ridge\ blizzard\ radio\ Greeley -- military\ Fairbanks, AK\ Anchorage, AK\ walkman\ radio station -- KUAC\ radio station -- college\ Goldstream Valley\ Gangley Moose\ Marc Brown and the Blues Crew\ sleeping bag\ radio station -- KJNP North Pole|
Section 21: radio station -- college\ radio station -- KJNP North Pole\ salvation\ major -- English\ challenges -- spiritual\ wind\ changes -- pressure\ climb -- technical\ crampon\ snowcave\ food\ Tabasco sauce\ water -- rationing\ harness\ knots\ high pressure\ McGinnis Peak\ fall\ French technique|
Section 22: fall\ climbing -- technical\ top rope\ finger -- black\ cave\ Benowitz, Jeff\ belaying\ axe\ down climb\ bread|
Section 23: McGinnis Peak\ cave -- marking\ Benowitz, Jeff\ apple\ toes -- warming\ avalanche\ Valley of Death\ skis\ Richardson Highway\ Northeast Ridge -- McGinnis Peak\ Southeast Ridge -- McGinnis Peak\ crevasses|
Section 24: Valley of Death -- retreat\ Benowitz, Jeff\ crevasse -- fall\ snow bridge\ weather -- deterioration\ cirque\ crevasses\ valley -- side\ avalanches\ snow -- entropy\ tolerance|
Section 25: wolves\ bivy\ river\ ambulatory\ post-hole\ snow -- windblown\ rescue -- procedures and policies\ information -- vague\ adventure -- maintained\ climbers -- safety\ organizations -- publicly funded\ cave\ boots|
Section 26: return date\ rescue\ heart attacks\ Alaskan Alpine Club\ Echelmeyer, Keith\ airplanes\ Delta River\ ice -- overflow\ snowcave\ raven|
Section 27: raven\ mentors\ writers -- climbing\ library -- Valdez, AK\ University of Alaska, Fairbanks\ Make Prayers to the Raven\ relationship -- predator-prey\ relationship -- climber-mountain|
Section 28: Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle\ Hasten Limit\ Haston, Dougal\ novel\ writing -- outcome\ self-negation\ culture -- production\ industry\ western civilization -- conquer\ wild places\ guide books -- moratorium\ publication|
Section 29: Tower of Babel\ psychology -- developmental\ awareness\ viewpoint\ knowledge\ mountain climbing -- selfish\ monuments\ brain -- evolution|
Section 30: climbing -- socially redeeming\ brain -- expression\ war\ aggression\ mountain climbing\ relationships -- predator-prey\ earth -- cleanse\ extreme climbing -- selfish\ mortality -- understanding\ age -- humbled|
Section 31: climbing -- context\ event horizon\ terra incognita\ rock walls -- anxiety\ adrenaline\ ego\ Walter, Tom\ mentor\ waterfall -- frozen\ Caribou Creek\ Valdez, AK|