Bob Elsinger- Local Hero
Bob Elsinger in the Gunks
Photo by Chris Vultaggio
3.17.16
David Lucander
It’s 7:15 am on a Sunday morning and Bob Elsinger is standing outside of his ranger truck on the Mohonk Preserve having coffee with a bunch of climbers. He’ll be around Undercliff Road in the Trapps for the next eight hours greeting hikers, telling stories, keeping climbers safe, and guiding mountain bikers just like he’s done since 1999 - the year that he retired from teaching Physical Education in Long Island.
After work, Bob will do something he’s been doing far longer, since 1969 – he’ll go rock climbing. He might make his hundred-something-ith trip up Three Pines, a first multi-pitch route for many climbers. He might lead a new climber up Raubenheimer Special; it’s an often overlooked route, but one that Bob never seems to stop having fun on. Or he might meet and catch up on life’s happenings with a friend from back in the seventies at the US Military Academy at West Point (Go Army! Beat Navy!) when Ned Crosley was getting its mountaineering program running. But whatever he does it will be with the old fashioned gusto and good natured humor that is Bob’s trademark.
Bob Elsinger is hardly a household climbing name. The only first ascent that he’s been a part of in his beloved Gunks is Back to the Future, a fifty-foot face climb that he joined guidebook authors Todd Swain and Dick Williams for. Elsinger never climbed 5.12, and his first lead fall was on a 5.4 at Ragged Mountain in Connecticut, but he’s led a 5.10 in each of the past four decades and he’s quick to point out that the infamous fall at Ragged involved hiking boots on his feet and a rope that most of us would not secure a boat with. He’s placed pitons, nuts, friends, and flashy tiny cams on climbs across just about every worthwhile crag in the United States.
Whether on an unplanned bivouac on the Grand Teton or a comfortable belay ledge in the Gunks, Bob passes time and amuses partners by reciting Robert W. Service poetry or sharing stories of past partners on the route who’ve gone on to do impressive ascents in greater ranges.
David Lucander
It’s 7:15 am on a Sunday morning and Bob Elsinger is standing outside of his ranger truck on the Mohonk Preserve having coffee with a bunch of climbers. He’ll be around Undercliff Road in the Trapps for the next eight hours greeting hikers, telling stories, keeping climbers safe, and guiding mountain bikers just like he’s done since 1999 - the year that he retired from teaching Physical Education in Long Island.
After work, Bob will do something he’s been doing far longer, since 1969 – he’ll go rock climbing. He might make his hundred-something-ith trip up Three Pines, a first multi-pitch route for many climbers. He might lead a new climber up Raubenheimer Special; it’s an often overlooked route, but one that Bob never seems to stop having fun on. Or he might meet and catch up on life’s happenings with a friend from back in the seventies at the US Military Academy at West Point (Go Army! Beat Navy!) when Ned Crosley was getting its mountaineering program running. But whatever he does it will be with the old fashioned gusto and good natured humor that is Bob’s trademark.
Bob Elsinger is hardly a household climbing name. The only first ascent that he’s been a part of in his beloved Gunks is Back to the Future, a fifty-foot face climb that he joined guidebook authors Todd Swain and Dick Williams for. Elsinger never climbed 5.12, and his first lead fall was on a 5.4 at Ragged Mountain in Connecticut, but he’s led a 5.10 in each of the past four decades and he’s quick to point out that the infamous fall at Ragged involved hiking boots on his feet and a rope that most of us would not secure a boat with. He’s placed pitons, nuts, friends, and flashy tiny cams on climbs across just about every worthwhile crag in the United States.
Whether on an unplanned bivouac on the Grand Teton or a comfortable belay ledge in the Gunks, Bob passes time and amuses partners by reciting Robert W. Service poetry or sharing stories of past partners on the route who’ve gone on to do impressive ascents in greater ranges.
This is a man who has done his reps. Right foot out wide. Right hand up for a layback. Rock on to it. Bucket with the left hand. Like a DiMaggio home run into right field, this just doesn’t get old.
Bob Elsinger in the Gunks
Photo by Chris Vultaggio
Later that Sunday afternoon and Bob is ready to tie in. It doesn’t matter who he is with or what he’s climbing, anyone who has roped up with Bob knows what to expect- a story, a smile, a critical piece of gear beta launching into a second pitch off the GT Ledge. He’ll do the crux move on High E, just like he has since Richard Nixon was president, back when weekends at the crag were a rare respite from judging international gymnastics competitions. This is a man who has done his reps. Right foot out wide. Right hand up for a layback. Rock on to it. Bucket with the left hand. Like a DiMaggio home run into right field, this just doesn’t get old.
Bob is well into his seventieth year, and it’s been quite a run. He’s summited every 4,000-foot peak in the Whites and Adirondacks, climbed more than 500 routes in the Gunks, and taught scores of people how to climb. Tens of thousands of people have walked by Bob while he’s on ranger duty, thousands have stopped and talked with him, and hundreds have tied in with him. He knows them all.
He has touched the lives of students, climbing partners, and visitors to the Preserve with his smile, his knowledge and his humor.
Here’s to one of our local Gunks heroes– stop and spend a few minutes with him next time you’re on the ridge. The elder statesman of the Gunks won’t forget you.
Bob is well into his seventieth year, and it’s been quite a run. He’s summited every 4,000-foot peak in the Whites and Adirondacks, climbed more than 500 routes in the Gunks, and taught scores of people how to climb. Tens of thousands of people have walked by Bob while he’s on ranger duty, thousands have stopped and talked with him, and hundreds have tied in with him. He knows them all.
He has touched the lives of students, climbing partners, and visitors to the Preserve with his smile, his knowledge and his humor.
Here’s to one of our local Gunks heroes– stop and spend a few minutes with him next time you’re on the ridge. The elder statesman of the Gunks won’t forget you.
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