Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Alaska Mountain Strikes a Blow to the LGBTQ Community.

A well-known and beloved Adirondack forest ranger died while ice climbing in Alaska on Thursday. Robbi Mecus, who was 52 years old, died while climbing with a partner, Melissa Orzechowski, in Denali National Park.

The accident occurred on Mt. Johnson, an 8,400-foot peak in Denali National Park’s Ruth Gorge.

Mecus and Orzechowski were ascending a route on Mt. Johnson known as “the Escalator,” a steep and technical 5,000 ft. climb.

a route marked in red on a snowy, steep mountain
The “Escalator” route on Mt. Johnson, Denali National Park and Preserve. The X indicates the approximate location of the rescue of the surviving climbing partner. (J.Kayes/NPS photo)
According to the National Park Service, the pair fell about 1,000 feet, which was witnessed by another climbing party on the route. The climbers reached Mecus and Orzechowski and confirmed that Mecus had died in the fall.

Orzechowski, 30, was airlifted out on Friday morning and was in critical condition, receiving medical care at a hospital in Anchorage. .

a group of climbers outside, one applying glitter to their face
Melissa Orzechowski applies gold glitter to their face. Orzechowski co-hosted the Adirondack Queer Ice Fest with Robbi Mecus. (Lucy Grindon)
Orzechowski lives in California, though previously lived and worked in the Adirondacks, including at the North Country School

Mecus was a leader among forest rangers in the Adirondacks, serving as a ranger since 1999.

She was part of hundreds of searches and rescues over her career, most recently playing a critical role in finding a hypothermic and frostbitten hiker during a snowstorm in the High Peaks last month.

two people outside in climbing gear, in the snow
Robbi Mecus, left, on a winter rescue in the Adirondacks in 2018. (Photo courtesy of Kevin MacKenzie)
“I join the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) family in mourning the sudden and tragic passing of Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar wrote in a statement. “Over her 25-year career with DEC, Ranger Mecus demonstrated an unparalleled passion for protecting the environment and New Yorkers.”

Mahar commended Mecus’s work “advancing diversity, inclusion, and LGBTQ belonging throughout the agency. Ranger Mecus will be dearly missed, and my thoughts are with her family and friends, fellow Forest Rangers, and DEC staff fortunate to have known her and learned from her.”

Former DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos, who oversaw Mecus for more than a decade, wrote on social media that he was “devastated by this news.”

“Robbi was such an incredible person. A pillar of strength,” Seggos wrote. “Always there for the most difficult NYSDEC rescues and crises, and a tremendous leader for LGBTQIA+ rights. I feel fortunate to have known her.”

The dead ranger "... was part of hundreds of searches and rescues over her career, most recently playing a critical role in finding a hypothermic and frostbitten hiker during a snowstorm in the High Peaks last month."

I bet the subjects of her SAR efforts did not GAF over her orientation.

I supppse some homophobes here would rather stay lost than be found by a lesbian. Not me.

The dead ranger "... was part of hundreds of searches and rescues over her career, most recently playing a critical role in finding a hypothermic and frostbitten hiker during a snowstorm in the High Peaks last month."

I bet the subjects of her SAR efforts did not GAF over her orientation.

I supppse some homophobes here would rather stay lost than be found by a lesbian. Not me.