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Scott Croll


chirp

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I was just doing some googling of folks I used to know and when I came to Scotts name, I got some odd and old links to some newspaper in Juneau mentioning he and some other fellow never returned from some flight out in the bush.

 

I worked with Scott at Devils Tower in 1987 and was curious if anyone had any more info on him or if anyone knew him.

 

Thanks!

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Yow

Saw Scott's name and a shiver went through me.

 

Scott was on a plane (from Haines to Juneau I think). There were actually two planes going, one turned back. Scott's plane was never heard from or found. I never knew Scott, but do know many of his friends in Haines. They tell me he was a great person and a good friend.

 

I've done that flight (Juneau to Haines) and the ferry ride as well. In bad weather. There really is nothing but water, trees, mountains. Plenty of places to not be found.

 

tshimko wave.gif

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On my ski history website, I have a short note about a letter from John Dittli that appeared in the Spring 2000 issue of Couloir magazine:

 

http://www.alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/period/couloir/couloir-2000-09.html#couloir-2000-spr-p9

 

Couloir Magazine, 2000

 

Spring 2000, p. 9, Letter from John Dittli: "Farewell"

 

Scott Croll was working as a backcountry ranger in Glacier Bay, Alaska, during the summer of 1999 when the small plane he was flying in disappeared without a trace. The writer met Croll in the Sierra Nevada in 1987. Croll later became a backcountry ranger in the North Cascades. He pioneered ski routes deep in the Sierra and North Cascades backcountry. On p. 17 are photographs of Dittli and Croll carrying skis and big packs through brush and across a river, probably in the North Cascades.

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I can't remember the year Scott and John skied from Watson Lake to Beaver Pass via Jasper Pass, Pioneer Ridge, Crowder, Challenger, Wiley-Eiley. Scott worked as a climbing ranger in NOCA and wintered in the Sierra, ski bumming around Mammoth Lakes. I believe Scott's father was a career NPS ranger.

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Nice bits on Scott and kinda cool that the community still remembers him.

Thats was the season of bliss in 1987, I had a chance to meet and climb with quite a few GOOD folks, and as I remember several other shining stars that passed thru that summer are also not with us. Seth Shaw was another one that stayed with my neighbor.

Some nice memories, thanks!

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With a long ago NW Arete (Coulour) accident on Shuksan brought to mind recently, I was remembering Scott Croll. Scott was one of several rangers (as Skeezix had mentioned) on this team effort, which spanned from 1991-94 to recover climber Gary Gary, killed by sudden ice fall. Yes, Scott's father was a career NPS ranger, Scott was well on his way too.

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  • 19 years later...

I knew Scott in college - Colby College, Maine, early '80's - and was aware of this tragedy. I was talking about him this morning and thought I'd google his name to see if there was ever a recovery of the aircraft. He lived with a prior/future roommate of mine and I remember him as a gentle and very nice person. I was very sad to discover he'd died so tragically many years ago. I see the references to his backcountry skiing - I kind of remember a pair of nordic skis in his dorm room but didn't think of him as a skier! Strangely, his college roommate and I are now in the midst of planning a ski tour in Switzerland next spring which is what prompted me to mention him today. 

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One of our regulars here on this board was Gary's partner for that accident on Shuksan so many years ago.  The climbing world is indeed small and interconnected. 

Sorry that I never had the chance to meet Scott, he sounded like quite the guy.

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