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Roger Robinson
Roger Robinson was interviewed on April 27, 2000 by Dave Krupa at the National Park Service Ranger Station in Talkeetna, Alaska. In this interview, Roger talks about being a mountaineering ranger at Denali National Park, interacting with climbers, working to establish clean camping regulations on the mountain, and being involved with search and rescue operations. Roger's humility and warmth of character make this interview one of the most engaging accounts in the Denali Mountaineering Project Jukebox collection.
Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 2000-17-02
Project: Denali Mountaineering
Date of Interview: Apr 27, 2000
Narrator(s): Roger Robinson
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) Background information and how Roger got into climbing
2) Becoming very involved in climbing and mountaineering
3) Continuation of discussion about Mt. Logan climb, and cleanup climb on Denali
4) First trip to Alaska and climbs the following summer (1976)
5) Working on the clean-up crew in 1976 to alleviate the garbage problem as a result of the increasing number of climbers on Denali
6) Four months of total climbing\bagging peaks in the "Little Switzerland" area, and trading services for airfare
7) The architects of local buildings and environmental problems on the mountain
8) Plans for environmental climbs on Denali, and his decision to move to Alaska
9) Finishing college, and building his cabin in Alaska
10) Looking for work in Alaska and finally getting the ranger job at Denali National Park
11) His first duties working for the National Park Service and the new office
12) The duties his job expected of him
13) The similarities and differences between the Park Service of 1980 and the Park Service of 2000
14) How the profile of the typical Denali climber has changed in 20 years
15) More on the typical climber and qualities in people
16) His personal experiences climbing in the mountains
17) How to train for climbing Denali and unique rescues
18) The Park Service realizing that they need to do more in the way of educating the public
19) Significant recoveries affecting people emotionally and making people re-evaluate the current system
20) The people involved in search and rescue
21) How rescues are funded and incidents involving volunteers
22) Serious considerations on restructuring rescues
23) Rescuers hindered by being government employees and non-emergency rescues
24) Rationalizing the relationship between the wilderness ethic and people's preconceived perception of rescue as a way out
25) Some particularly harrowing experiences on the mountain
26) Dealing with large groups of people stranded at High Camp
27) The evacuation of the distressed group from High Camp
28) The frozen Russian climber
29) Attempting to rescue Victor Pomerosiff, and the silent avalanche
30) Continuation of the discussion about the rescue of Victor Pomerosiff
31) The weather clearing allowing people to move in and out of camp, and Roger's health
32) How Roger sees his future in the park
33) The seasonal lifestyle and Roger's other interests
34) Future plans
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: Oregon\ Corvallis, OR.\ Willamette Valley\ Alaska -- move\ Oregon State University\ Boy Scouts\ climbing -- introduction\ family -- outdoor oriented\ Boy Scouts -- climbing\ rappel\ climbing -- volcanoes\ vehicle -- '57 Ford\ Cascade Mountains\ Eugene, OR.\ climbing -- rock\ basalt columns\ Smith Rocks\ Mt. Hood|
Section 2: camping -- winter\ skiing -- cross-country\ explorer post\ Boy Scouts\ Oregon State University -- outdoors program\ climbing store -- employment\ climbers -- network\ gear -- inexpensive\ climbing -- trips\ University of Oregon -- Eugene, OR.\ Mt. Logan\ Yukon\ "Shakedown" Trip\ Mt. Logan -- planning\ Mt. Logan -- approach\ Alpenstein, Jeff\ Denali\ Mt. Logan -- base\ airlift -- supplies\ Mt. Logan -- East Ridge|
Section 3: Mt. Logan -- climb\ Mt. Logan -- similarity to Denali\ Mt. Logan -- reconnaissance\ arctic -- mountaineering\ Alcan Highway\ Denali\ Oregon State University\ University of Oregon\ climb -- clean up\ Denali -- number of climbers\ routes -- crowded\ circumnavigation -- upper\ South Buttress -- Ramp Route\ Thayer Basin\ Thayer Ridge\ Harper Glacier\ West Buttress\ North Peak\ Denali -- summit|
Section 4: Denali -- first climb\ Alaska -- first trip\ Alaska -- wilderness\ climb -- clean-up\ Denali\ climbing -- active\ Alaska Range\ Mt. Huntington -- climb\ French Ridge\ skiing\ Mt
