roger jung The Legend of Roger Jung

[olyclimber]

At pubclub last night I was reminded of the missing Roger Jung, a legendary recluse Cascade climber.  See this thread. 

I would love to capture in a single thread the story of his accomplishments and just his general story.   If you search this site you will find him mentioned all the time, from "he probably climbed that" to his name in summit registers.  Just seem like a legend worth documenting and keeping alive.   So share your memories, encounters, or anything to do with Roger here.  What can you tell me of him?  What summit registers have you seen his name in (date? summit?).   It would be good if this could help bring closure or find him, but barring that I would just like to document his story.

https://charleyproject.org/case/roger-lenard-jung

 

[JasonG]

Great idea for a thread!!  I will take some time in coming weeks to piece together a bit of the story I know.....

[olyclimber]

NwHikers thread.

[olyclimber]

I guess I'll start with what I know, which is not necessarily factual as its pieced together from reading things from the Internet and talking to people. I'm hoping people can improve on this or correct me where I'm wrong.

Roger Jung is/was an accomplished climber who increasing liked to climb alone and do pretty significant climbs, even in winter. You'll find his name in many summit registers in the North Cascades.  

From the Charley Project website for missing persons:

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• Missing Since09/25/2005
• Missing FromEverett, Washington
• ClassificationLost/Injured Missing
• SexMale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth01/07/1975 (48)
• Age30 years old
• Height and Weight6'5, 190 - 200 pounds
• Associated Vehicle(s)Red 1990 Jeep Cherokee with the license plate number 421PDV
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes.

 

Jung was last seen in Everett, Washington on September 25, 2005. He has never been heard from again.

Authorities believe he went for a hike in the Cascade Mountains. He is an experienced and passionate mountain climber, but when he went on climbs he would often not tell other people where he was going or when they should expect him to return.

An extensive search turned up no sign of him. Jung's red 1990 Jeep Cherokee with the license plate number 421PDV disappeared with him and has never been found.

Jung grew up in Kirkland, Washington. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and a graduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He lived alone at the time of his disappearance and kept to himself. His family stated he was happy with his life and had no reason to walk away from it. His case remains unsolved.

His Jeep was found at the Phelps Creek trailhead with "freshly caught fish" in it, but no fishing gear.  He had signed the trailhead register, and some reported that he had both signed in and out (as in he had returned) but speculation in the NWHikers thread is that possible he just noted his planned return date?

 

[olyclimber]

From a 2009 TR by @Tom_Sjolseth :

 

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The original summit register, left by Warren Spickard, Duke Watson and party in 1958, was still there as it should be. Most surprising to us was the fact that the last 5 ascents were made by the late (and great) Roger Jung. All solo! And the greatest surprise of all was that one of them was in Winter up Goodell Creek. And he summitted on the second day after snowshoeing all the way up Goodell Creek on Day 1. Absolutely astonishing.

 

[JasonG]

This register is one of my favorites:

[JasonG]

The same fall Roger went missing, I ran into his father, Jim Jung, on a late season scramble of Corteo (I was solo, he was with a partner).  We talked of his son's exploits and I could tell there was a lot of worry and pain in the strain of his disappearance.  I still remember Jim's parting words to me..... "Please keep an eye out for my son". 

I still do, maybe more so now that I am a father to two boys of my own.

[JasonG]

So, I think I may only have one other legend, reported to me by @sepultura.  He climbed Arches peak in 2009 and reported that Roger had signed into the register some years prior, saying something to the effect of : "North Face. No route description, no rope, no problem. Roger Jung".  He didn't give it a grade and I'm sure never reported it, but it is most certainly a FA . . .

[olyclimber]

I may have to make some calls as I’m being told to talk to some people about Roger, some may be “off the record”. But I’ll share what I can.  Definitely tons of support in the community to document Roger’s story.

I will do what I can.