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Russell Berry
Russell Berry was interviewed on March 5, 1992 by Bill Brown in Russ Berry's office at Denali National Park Headquarters in Denali Park, Alaska. In this interview, Russ talks about the issues he faces as the park's superintendent in terms of managing climbing on Denali. He discusses access and transportation, rescues, overcrowding on the mountain, regulating guiding, and possible impacts from development on the south side of the Alaska Range.
Digital Asset Information
Archive #: Oral History 93-02-01
Project: Denali Mountaineering
Date of Interview: Mar 5, 1992
Narrator(s): Russell Berry
Interviewer(s): Bill Brown
Location of Interview:
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) Personal background and career development
2) Climbers and National Park Service response with glacier flying
3) To rescue or not to rescue
4) Crowding on the mountain
5) Flight-seeing over and around Mount McKinley (now Denali)
6) Freedom versus responsibility
7) Denali National Park's South Side Development Plan
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: education\ NPS -- career|
Section 2: NPS\ flying -- glacier\ Kahiltna Glacier -- landing strip\ Sheldon, Don\ landing strip -- maintenance\ NPS -- history of presence\ helicopters -- military, Chinook\ helicopters -- cost efficiency, criticism\ helicopters -- Lama\ helicopters -- on base argument|
Section 3: NPS\ rescue -- responsibility\ rescue -- NPS\ rescue -- prevention\ rescue -- education\ Deaths -- record 1991\ rescue -- operation\ Okonek, Jim\ Geeting, Doug\ Hudson, Cliff|
Section 4: mountain -- crowding\ high altitude -- camp limitation\ Experience -- consideration\ environment -- consideration\ safety -- consideration\ guiding -- permits\ environment -- damage|
Section 5: legislation\ aircraft in the Parks Act -- Alaska's exemption\ aviation -- aesthetic concerns\ Ruth Glacier\ flight seeing -- safety\ flight seeing -- collision\ Grand Canyon\ flight-seeing -- rules\ ANILCA\ Sheldon Amphitheater\ Ruth Amphitheater|
Section 6: freedom\ responsibility regulation|
Section 7: South Side -- development\ development -- Talkeetna\ Matanuska Valley\ Talkeetna -- lifestyle\ Talkeetna -- visitor center\ Talkeetna -- attitude to NPS\ Talkeetna -- tourism\ Talkeetna -- incorporation\ Visitor Center -- mitigation|