useapen
2024-04-28 08:12:17 UTC
A longtime New York forest ranger and trans advocate was killed Thursday
night after falling more than 1,000 feet while attempting to climb a steep
cliff in Alaska, officials said.
Robbi Mecus, 52, of Keene Valley and her climbing partner both fell while
ice climbing an especially treacherous part of Mount Johnson in Denali
National Park known as the Escalator, according to the National Park
Service.
Mecus, a transgender woman, died in the fall. Her climbing partner, a 30-
year-old woman from California, survived with serious traumatic
injuries.
Another climbing party witnessed the tragic drop and called for help
around 10:45 p.m., but it took until 7 a.m. the following morning for the
survivor to be airlifted to a hospital.
Mecuss body wasnt recovered until Saturday morning following
deteriorating weather conditions the evening prior.
The outdoors enthusiast had been a forest ranger for the Department of
Environmental Conservations Adirondack region for 25 years after joining
in 1999 at the age of 27, the agency said.
I join the Department of Environmental Conservation family in mourning
the sudden and tragic passing of Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus, interim DEC
Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a statement Saturday.
Mahar said Mecus exemplified the Forest Rangers high standard of
professional excellence, emphasizing her rescue efforts, her work on
complex searches and her deployments to out-of-state wildfire response
missions.
The interim commissioner also commended Mecuss work in advancing
diversity, inclusion, and LGBTQ belonging throughout the agency.
Mecus was also a leader in the queer community in the Adirondacks, NCPR
reported.
She told the outlet in 2021 that she struggled through her teenage years
to come to terms with her gender identity. She ultimately waited until she
was in her 40s to transition: I was scared and afraid and I didnt know
how I was going to live my life.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/28/us-news/new-york-park-ranger-robbi-mecus-
died-while-ice-climbing-mount-johnson/
night after falling more than 1,000 feet while attempting to climb a steep
cliff in Alaska, officials said.
Robbi Mecus, 52, of Keene Valley and her climbing partner both fell while
ice climbing an especially treacherous part of Mount Johnson in Denali
National Park known as the Escalator, according to the National Park
Service.
Mecus, a transgender woman, died in the fall. Her climbing partner, a 30-
year-old woman from California, survived with serious traumatic
injuries.
Another climbing party witnessed the tragic drop and called for help
around 10:45 p.m., but it took until 7 a.m. the following morning for the
survivor to be airlifted to a hospital.
Mecuss body wasnt recovered until Saturday morning following
deteriorating weather conditions the evening prior.
The outdoors enthusiast had been a forest ranger for the Department of
Environmental Conservations Adirondack region for 25 years after joining
in 1999 at the age of 27, the agency said.
I join the Department of Environmental Conservation family in mourning
the sudden and tragic passing of Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus, interim DEC
Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a statement Saturday.
Mahar said Mecus exemplified the Forest Rangers high standard of
professional excellence, emphasizing her rescue efforts, her work on
complex searches and her deployments to out-of-state wildfire response
missions.
The interim commissioner also commended Mecuss work in advancing
diversity, inclusion, and LGBTQ belonging throughout the agency.
Mecus was also a leader in the queer community in the Adirondacks, NCPR
reported.
She told the outlet in 2021 that she struggled through her teenage years
to come to terms with her gender identity. She ultimately waited until she
was in her 40s to transition: I was scared and afraid and I didnt know
how I was going to live my life.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/28/us-news/new-york-park-ranger-robbi-mecus-
died-while-ice-climbing-mount-johnson/