It is with great sadness that I share the following obituary for Chuck Kroger. He valiantly fought pancreatic cancer for 5 months, but on Christmas day he peacefully left us. His wife Kathy was by his side and grateful for all the friends and family who supported her and Chuck through this difficult time. Kathy reads the climbing forums often, and I know she will enjoy hearing stories from all of Chuck's friends. A good friend of Chuck's once called him "the king of the one-day adventure"- it was a designation he loved. May we all smile and think of Chuck as we continue such adventures.
CHARLES FREDERICK “CHUCK” KROGER
(1946 – 2007)
Chuck Kroger of Telluride passed away on December 25th in Denver, Colorado from pancreatic cancer after a five month valiant battle. Chuck was a man of many adventures that spanned many continents and were shared with friends from all over the world. Chuck was born on Dec. 1, 1946 in Iron River, Michigan. At 6 months, his family returned to Kalispell, Montana. A lifelong builder, artisan and tinkerer, he refused to go to kindergarten so he could continue helping his Dad and carpenters build their house there. His family later moved to Southern California, first to Pomona and then to Riverside, although he remained connected to Flathead Lake through summers spent at the family’s cabin. Chuck spent his summers on family hikes, camping trips, learned about boating and rowing, went timber cruising and worked some summers at the family sawmill.
Chuck graduated from Riverside Poly High School in 1965. During high school, he raced bikes and started going on Sierra Club hikes. Chuck attended UC Riverside for one year and was on the cross country track team before transferring to Stanford University. At Stanford, he majored in geophysics, and delved deeper into his lifelong passion for rock climbing, bouldering, and mountaineering. His senior year, Chuck was president of the Stanford Alpine Club. When Chuck graduated from Stanford in 1969, one of his professors commented that Chuck has spent more time climbing rocks than studying rocks than any previous student.
Chuck’s climbing career included being the first person to climb four routes on El Capitan in Yosemite in a single season (1968-69). He also did the first ascent of the Heart Route in 1970. His climbing took him all over the world, including trips to Alaska, the Alps, the Soviet Union and South America. Chuck’s climbing feats were chronicled in several climbing history books, which referred to him and his friends as the first of the “college boy weekend climbers,” capable of climbing as well as the full time Camp 4 climbers.
Chuck’s formative work experience, pursued between climbing and sailing trips, included guide work at several mountaineering and climbing schools in California and Wyoming, leading Sierra Club hikes all over the west, working as a carpenter and with Yvon Chouinard at Great Pacific Iron Works, which later became Patagonia. Chuck honed his construction and management skills and Spanish by building aquaculture facilities for the University of Arizona in Rocky Point, Mexico.
Chuck met Kathy Green, his wife of thirty years and partner in his adventures, in the Grand Canyon. After tying the knot in Las Vegas between escapades, they found their way to Telluride in 1979 where they established BONE Construction. Between remodels and new construction, Chuck Kroger’s creativity and attention to detail is recognizable throughout the Telluride region. He also went to Antarctica six times, working on National Science Foundation-funded grants, as a mountaineer and safety consultant.
Chuck Kroger turned his passion for movement to running and mountaineering in Telluride. A well-known face in mountain distance running, he was a six-time finisher in the Hardrock 100 (mile race) and also ran the Get High Race, the Imogene Pass Run and other events. He spent long hours hiking and exploring the mountains of Telluride, with friends, family (especially his father) and anyone with the stamina to keep up with him.
An inveterate tinkerer, he invented a line of rail-bikes, converted road and mountain bikes designed to run on railroad tracks. With friends, he would seek out (mostly) abandoned rail lines in the US and elsewhere to ride. He also made old snowboards into board sleds. When the Dolores River would freeze over he would take friends ice-biking.
Volunteerism was a major theme in Kroger’s life. He spent time in Mexico with an organization called Corazon, building simple houses, and also with Habitat for Humanity in Montrose. Some of the trails in the Telluride area are more usable as a result of his expertise in trail-building and maintenance.
Kroger had a slight problem with authority that led to a string of what might be considered dubious accomplishments. While at Stanford, he and friends pioneered the sport of “buildering,” traversing a ledge on the chapel, several ascents of the Golden Gate Bridge, and arduous trips through vents between buildings. He was also part of the “Valley Floor Seven,” a group of cross-country skiers prosecuted for trespassing after community relations with the San Miguel Valley Corporation soured and access to the valley floor was denied. He got off with probation.
A self-taught welder, Chuck used that knowledge to create one-of-a-kind practical architectural elements in the homes he built and also created a host of artwork which was often donated to local nonprofit groups for fundraising. The Ah Haa School and the Telluride AIDS Benefit auctions included such unique pieces as “The Puker” and “Very Sharp Chairs” which started intense bidding wars. In addition, his metal train stands and picture frames became local collectables.
His philosophy regarding his art work, that it should make people laugh and that it should probably move as well, summarizes Chuck’s life: always going places, making things, and bringing joy and laughter into people’s lives.
Chuck Kroger is survived by his wife, Kathy Green, of Telluride, his parents, Robert and Isabel Kroger of San Diego, California, his sister, Kathryn Kroger, and his nephew, Jeremy Kroger. A Telluride celebration of Chuck’s life is planned for the summer of 2008 so that his far-flung friends may attend.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Telluride Mountain Club, PO Box 2128, Telluride, CO 81435.
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