High Sierra Topix

Awful, awful news. So sad... I always enjoyed his posts, exchanged a few PMs with him, but never met him in person. He will will certainly be missed.

--F.G. Dave

I did not know Vaca Russ personally, however I was impacted by him.

Vaca Russ and Sport inspired me to dream big and learn about numerous peaks in the Sierra, especially the Tahoe/Desolation area.

He truly had a big impact on my adventures and future adventures.

So did Sport (his partner in adventure), who accompanied him on countless adventures.

So my Thanks go out to Vaca Russ and Sport tonight

RIP Russ. Am so sad to hear this. From what others are saying, he was surely a person that enjoyed, loved life, and certainly did not want to pass on to eternal oblivion.

Mortal fleshly death is the saddest reality of our creaturely existences. All of us our should value our short lives greatly and make the most of days we have left as the bottomless abyss is just a step away each day we awake.

Vaca Russ was laid to rest on Friday 20 July. He was cremated and interned at the National Cemetary off Midway Road in Dixon, Ca.
For those of you maybe in the future that would like to visit his final resting place, you can search the graves and find that in the database.
For those that spoke at his service, the common thing was Russ was not into material things and he had much generousity. Russ is one of 8 children and he had wonderful parents and siblings. Russ' Mom made the trip (God Bless her at 82) and told us how they did things as a family.....and a wonderful family they all are. A former co-worker and one of Russ' neighbors went hiking and camping with Russ and they were looking at the stars and meteors. Russ showed John the difference between satellites and meteors going across the skies and John said one final thing that John shared with us.....Russ' words were "This is where we belong".
Thought you folks would like to know so I felt I would share that.

Bob Brown

Vaca Russ was laid to rest on Friday 20 July. He was cremated and interned at the National Cemetary off Midway Road in Dixon, Ca.
For those of you maybe in the future that would like to visit his final resting place, you can search the graves and find that in the database.
For those that spoke at his service, the common thing was Russ was not into material things and he had much generousity. Russ is one of 8 children and he had wonderful parents and siblings. Russ' Mom made the trip (God Bless her at 82) and told us how they did things as a family.....and a wonderful family they all are. A former co-worker and one of Russ' neighbors went hiking and camping with Russ and they were looking at the stars and meteors. Russ showed John the difference between satellites and meteors going across the skies and John said one final thing that John shared with us.....Russ' words were "This is where we belong".
Thought you folks would like to know so I felt I would share that.

Bob Brown

Thank you very much for sharing this with us Bob!

Sadly I am just now discovering the passing of Russ.

He clearly made an impact on people, like myself, who had never met the man face to face. It seems in this community we all strive to get into the mountains and live life as Russ had done - but he did it so much better than most of us. He was always kind, thoughtful and genuine. Such a shame, and way too early for him to go.

As to the quote in his tagline referenced up thread, I recall looking up the full text of it from Gibran when I first noticed it some time ago. I think it speaks volumes of the man he was and that many of us would aspire to be.

Here's a longer portion of the Gibran quote:
And tell me, people of OrphaIese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors?
Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power?
Have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind?
Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain?
Tell me, have you these in your houses?
Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?


Rest In Peace Russ,

Shawn

Shocked and saddened. Like many others, learned a great deal from his posts. It was so evident how much he loved the Sierra and how much he enjoyed sharing that love with others.

Thanks to Bob for sharing about his service.

I'm at a loss for words. I haven't visited the forums for a while and I actually logged in to see what Russ had been up to. We've just missed each other in the backcountry many times (mostly Desolation Wilderness) in the past and I wanted to see where he's been, and going, this summer. Damn.

We thought a lot about our friend Russ this past week. 'cause we could see the mountain of his final ascent. Every time I see a mylar balloon, I will think of you

Oh man..just seing this. The mountains are calling. RIP Russ.