In this episode we'll hear from Ted Wilson. Ted was interviewed by Erin Halcomb and Matt Driscoll in 2011 as part of the Everett Cooley Oral History Project. Ted is best known for being Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, a member of the Alpenbock Climbing Club, and involved in multiple rescues - including one on the north face of the Grand Teton. This is the second episode of a two-part series featuring Ted's 2011 oral history. The audio included in this episode episode corresponds with section U-3089 in the transcript linked to in the episode notes. Please excuse any background noises in this archival audio recording.
Ted Wilson discusses being hired to work at the Grand Tetons. He was chosen to be a part of the Tetons rescue team because of his rescue skills. He describes a few rescues he was a part of. After one rescue, the sheriff's office, who hadn't done anything to help, took all the credit for rescuing a group of kids. The most harrowing, and most famous, rescue Mr. Wilson took part in was a three day rescue on the north face of Mount Owen in 1967. A man and woman were signaling for help on the mountain. The rescue team assembled and put together a plan. It took them two days to plan the rescue and get to the victim. They got the woman off the mountain, but the man was very badly injured. Mr. Wilson stayed up with the victim during the first night, discussing climbing in Europe and trying to keep his mind off the pain. In the morning a helicopter brought morphine for the victim. On the third day, the team decided to go down the mountain with the victim, which was a very complicated process. At one point two of the rescuers (mathematicians), worked together to estimate the distance to a ledge beneath them by listening to the sound of a rock falling onto it. They succeeded in saving the victim, but the victim, according to Mr. Wilson, was upset. He told the press it shouldn't have taken the rescuers that long. All the rescuers were extremely upset, and some still are, though Mr. Wilson doesn't think about it anymore. He did his job and he got paid for it and he saved a life. Mr. Wilson then describes life after working at the Tetons. After the rescue in '67, Mr. Wilson had more confidence in accomplishing goals because he had overcome such a difficult task. He also learned to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of climbing, instead of only thinking of it as climbing. Mr. Wilson considers mountaineering to be the most challenging and rewarding form of climbing, but believes that other, newer forms of climbing have value as well. He then, discusses advances in gear and equipment and talks about some of the climbers that he admires most. Project: Outdoor Recreation. Interviewer: Matt Driscoll and Erin Halcomb.
View Ted Wilson's Oral History in the Marriott Digital Library