EP 18: 47 Years As A Jenny Lake Climbing Ranger, Research and Teaching, and Serving in the Peace Corps with George Montopoli

Hello, and welcome back to the Shadows Run Podcast! 

Today's episode features a conversation with George Montopoli. George has spent 47 seasons working as a Jenny Lake Climbing Ranger in Grand Teton National Park performing technical mountain rescues, building trails, putting up first ascents, and conducting research. George also has a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Wyoming, and spent many years teaching students at the University of Wyoming, Arizona Western College, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. 

In this conversation we talk about how George first got into rock climbing; life as a Climbing Ranger in 1977 versus today; George tells the story of a lightning rescue he was a part of on the Exum Ridge of the Grand Teton in 2003; we talk about his various first ascents and wild adventures in the '70s and '80s; I ask George about the bald eagle and marmot research he worked on for 20 years in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; and we even talk about George's four years in the Peace Corps in Chile and Ecuador back in 1980-1984. 

This episode is incredibly rich - I truly believe there is something for everyone to resonate with or learn from in this conversation. 

Thank you so much to George for sharing his time and wisdom on the podcast, and to all of you for tuning in!

Podcast Email: [email protected]

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadowsrunpodcast/ 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/shadowsrunpodcast.bsky.social 

Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennylakerangers/?hl=en 

A Bolt From the Blue: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Bolt-from-the-Blue/Jennifer-Woodlief/9781451607086

Bald Eagle Research: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jrr/vol35/iss3/4/ 

Arizona Western College Hall of Fame: https://foundation.azwestern.edu/news/dr-george-montopoli-inducted-awc-hall-fame