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Schroder
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Joined: 26 Oct 2007
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Schroder
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 Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:47 pm |
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Rowland Tabor, the author of Routes and Rocks passed away January 13th
Rowland Tabor obituary
| Quote: | | Rowland Tabor
June 10, 1932 - Jan. 13, 2022
Portola Valley, CA
"We are born of and sustained by the planet earth, and the elements of its rocks and seas are our nearest cosmological relatives. When we can understand the earth and its history, we have come a little closer to understanding ourselves and our place in the universe."
R.W. Tabor, 1975
Rowland Tabor died January 13, 2022, at his home in Portola Valley, in the company of family and dear friends. He was born and grew up in Denver, where he began his enduring love of mountains.
Rowland attended Stanford University as an undergraduate. A fortuitous college summer job as a geologic field assistant in Alaska set him on the path to his life's work as a mountaineering geologist. He pursued graduate studies in geology at the University of Washington. Upon receiving his PhD in 1961, he was hired by the U. S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA. He spent a season in Antarctica, and then over the next 34 years went on to write professional papers and create geologic maps of Kentucky, the Moon, Nevada, the Olympic Peninsula, and the North Cascades. He served several years as Chief of the Branch of Western Regional Geology. After his retirement in 1995, he stayed on at the Survey as Geologist Emeritus, where he continued to publish geologic maps of his beloved North Cascades.
While at Stanford, Rowland found his tribe with the Stanford Alpine Club. There he made life-long friendships forged during memorable mountaineering adventures. The stories of his SAC climbs and skiing expeditions are legend. As an accomplished mountaineer, he was a long-time member of the American Alpine Club. Notable climbs included Lost Arrow Spire (CA), Shiprock (NM), Hoover Tower (CA), and first ascents of Mt La Perouse (AK) and the North Ridge of Mt Johannesburg (WA). While on a Fulbright in Austria he also enjoyed climbs in the French Alps, and an ascent of the Matterhorn.
While his summers were devoted to field work, during the rest of the year at home in Portola Valley, he enjoyed working in his darkroom, remodeling his 1920's-built home, and volunteering on Portola Valley's Conservation Committee and its Geologic Safety Committee. He was instrumental in persuading the Town to move the Town Center to the west, away from the San Andreas Fault. He was also a familiar figure on his bicycle on his daily commute, rain or shine, to work in Menlo Park.
For years, he sang bass in the Stanford Symphonic Chorus, and in field camps he entertained his field assistants and fellow geologists with his guitar and an endless repertoire of folk- and climbing songs.
Rowland believed geology should be accessible to the wider public, and enjoyed writing for the curious layman. With his good friend and colleague, Dwight Crowder, he co-authored Routes and rocks: hiker's guide to the North Cascades from Glacier Peak to Lake Chelan (The Mountaineers, 1965). He followed this with his popular books Guide to the geology of Olympic National Park (University of Washington Press, 1975), and, co-authored with colleague and friend, Ralph Haugerud, Geology of the North Cascades: a mountain mosaic (The Mountaineers, 1999). His last book, Rock pick and ice axe: recollections of a mountaineering geologist (2022) is published by his family.
Rowland is survived by his devoted wife of 52 years, Karin (Kajsa) Eckelmeyer, his sons Whitney and Michael, their mother Lesley Stark Tabor, and grandsons Merce Tabor and Kaito Tabor. His sister, Anne Tabor Winston, predeceased him. Contributions in his memory may be made to any organization devoted to the preservation of our beautiful, natural world. |
 hikerbiker, Anne Elk, Carbonj  Lindsay  DrScience, pula58, RodF, seawallrunner
hikerbiker, Anne Elk, Carbonj Lindsay DrScience, pula58, RodF, seawallrunner |
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JonnyQuest
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Joined: 10 Dec 2013
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I hadn't heard, so thanks for posting. Back in school I spent some time studying his work on ridgetop depressions in the Olympic Mountains.
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Stefan
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Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Stefan
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Wed Feb 02, 2022 8:55 pm |
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Kim Brown
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Joined: 13 Jul 2009
Posts: 6611 | TRs | Pics
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I actually googled him a few months ago to see if he was still with us.
A wonderful man
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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RichP
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Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5479 | TRs | Pics
Location: here and there |
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RichP
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Thu Feb 03, 2022 7:50 am |
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| Schroder wrote: | | For years, he sang bass in the Stanford Symphonic Chorus, and in field camps he entertained his field assistants and fellow geologists with his guitar and an endless repertoire of folk- and climbing songs. |
He could do it all. RIP
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Olympic Hiker
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Joined: 19 Oct 2009
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If I remember correctly, he has a couple of first assents to his credit in the Olympic Mountains.
Edit: The one route I was remembering was route 2 for Mt. Dana, according to the 3rd edition of the Olympic Mountain Climbers Guide.
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. - Lincoln
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. - Lincoln
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
Joined: 07 Sep 2018
Posts: 2030 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle |
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
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Thu Feb 03, 2022 6:52 pm |
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| Schroder wrote: | | "We are born of and sustained by the planet earth, and the elements of its rocks and seas are our nearest cosmological relatives. When we can understand the earth and its history, we have come a little closer to understanding ourselves and our place in the universe."
R.W. Tabor, 1975 |
That's just pure poetry. Sounds like he was a real renaissance man. Thanks for this post.
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
pula58
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
pula58
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JVesquire
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Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 972 | TRs | Pics
Location: Pasco, WA |
RIP. Routes and Rocks is such a good read and a classic to hold in your hand with the maps and such.
pula58
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Snowshovel
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Joined: 05 Apr 2021
Posts: 166 | TRs | Pics
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He had a hand in the first two Freedom of the Hills
pula58
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Kim Brown
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Joined: 13 Jul 2009
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I’m surprised this thread isn’t at the top of the list for commenting.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Jason Hummel
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Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 1191 | TRs | Pics
Location: Tacoma Washington |
Wow. This is heartbreaking to hear. Sounds like he had a fulfilling life. I wish I had a chance to connect with him, but sadly I never did. RIP.
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Bronco
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
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Bronco
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Thu Feb 10, 2022 9:55 am |
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I remember discovering the Routes and Rocks publications and was so psyched to see some pretty obscure routes into the Pickets. Tabor and Crowder really got around.
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cascadetraverser
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Joined: 16 Sep 2007
Posts: 1391 | TRs | Pics
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I didn’t see this and posted same in FMS.
More appropriate in PNW history. Thanks Schoeder!
His Routes and Rocks was an inspiration and guide for me for decades. I corresponded with him and sent him copies of videos of our retreads of some of his old routes which he enjoyed. In correspondence he was a true gentleman as I am sure he was in life. Apparently he has an autobiography published by family out this year. I hope to get a copy of that. He will be missed.
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Snowshovel
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Joined: 05 Apr 2021
Posts: 166 | TRs | Pics
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I can’t find his autobiography on line yet.
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Lindsay
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Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 51 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle |
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Lindsay
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Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:46 am |
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I was trying to find a picture of Rowland Tabor in the public domain and stumbled onto this video with about 20 seconds of Rowland geologizing in the Glacier Peak area in the late 1950s. Thought folks who appreciate Rowland's maps and writings might be interested in seeing this. Video archived in the UW Library Digital Collections.
He's featured from 1:22-1:45:
https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/filmarch/id/787/rec/1
contour5
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