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Show 25 November 2009 Russell Jacobs THE FOLLOWING IS AN INTERVIEW WITH RUSSELL JACOBS ON NOVEMBER 25, 2009. THE INTERVIEWER IS MA TT DRISCOLL. TAPE # U2038. MD: Okay, today is Wednesday, November 25th, 2009. I'm Matt Driscoll, and I'm here with Russell Jacobs to, uh, talk about Russell's life in climbing and mountaineering. Um, and before we get into your background, Russell, um, I thought I might, uh, ask you a little bit of ... about your, um, philosophy as a climber. And I ask you this question , uh , 'cause I myself am not really a climber. I'm somebody who hikes a lot and enjoys walking, and there's definitely a difference sort of dynamic at work with a hiker or somebody who walks and somebody who is on a wall. Um, and there's a quote from a book that I read recently, um, and the book is about walking. This is a quote from a writer named Rebecca Solnit, and, uh, she says, in this one particular quote, "Pat, my companion on this walk across the lake bed, prefers rock climbing, in which every move is an isolated act that absorbs the whole of his attention and seldom rises to a rhythm. It' s a difference of style that cuts deep in our lives. He is something of a Buddhist and conceives of spirituality as being conscious in the moment, while I am a sucker for symbolisms, interpretations, histories, and a Western kind of spirituality that is located less in the here than in the there." Um, and here, it seems like, um, Rebecca Solnit is, uh, identifying some sort of life philosophy that kind of parallels, um, her recreational pursuits. So, I'm curious if you have any thoughts on, um, whether your life philosophy matches up with your recreational pursuits? And I know that you're also a biker, a bigtime biker, as well as a climber, but, um, any thoughts on that? RJ: Well, um, as a young man, living in Utah, my father was an outdoors person. And he ran a scout troop before I was actually at the age that I could be ... or take participation. 1 |
