Ralph Fickel Papers, 1970-2010
Summary Information
Title: |
Ralph Fickel Papers, 1970-2010 |
|---|---|
Collection: |
AC.490, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection |
Extent: |
6.5 linear feet |
Abstract: |
Ralph Fickel was a rock and ice climber in North Carolina who attended Appalachian State University and served as a guide and teacher to beginner and more advanced climbers. His papers include his climbing journals, notes, and hand-drawn notes as well as correspondence, equipment catalogs, and organizational brochures. His interests in climbing, geography, and military history are represented in this collection. |
Creator: |
Fickel, Ralph, 1950-2010 |
Biographical Note
Ralph Edward Fickel, Jr. was born on March 21, 1950 in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Ralph E. Fickel and Margaret Sherby Fickel. He lived for many years in Greenville, South Carolina and Boone, North Carolina. He was a graduate of Appalachian State University, receiving a Master's Degree in Geography. Fickel was a veteran mountain climber for over thirty years who pioneered more than 70 first ascents on rock and ice in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Maine, the High Sierras, the Grand Tetons, the Desert Southwest, and the Nepal Himalayas. He spent several winters as caretaker of the Harvard Hut on Mt. Washington, did a solo trip to the Sierra Range as a high school student, and summited a 6,000 meter peak in the Himalayas. He completed the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Toprope Site Manager Course and worked as an instructor for the North Carolina Outward Bound School. Fickel also taught grade school and college courses. He earned certification as a Single Pitch Instructor with the Professional Climbing Instructors Association and was also certified in Wilderness First Aid through SOLO. He worked mountain rescue for the Appalachian Mountain Club and the National Park Service, where he has served as a park ranger in North Carolina.
Ralph Fickel died on March 3, 2010 at Doughton Park in the Blue Ridge Parkway from injuries received from a fall while mountain climbing.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains Ralph Fickel's personal papers, maps, organizational brochures and newsletters, and ephemera. Included in his personal papers are his climbing journals, correspondence, employment records, and hand-drawn climbing routes and notes. The maps included in the manuscript collection are those with insufficient publication information to be cataloged or are hand-drawn maps. Other maps donated with the collection have been individually cataloged. Organizational brochures and newsletters include information on military parks and battlefields, national parks and forests, and the Sierra Club. The ephemera series primarily contains equipment catalogs, but also includes backpacking and camping guides, posters, and expedition and seminar catalogs.
Arrangement
The Ralph Fickel papers are arranged into four series: Personal Papers, Maps, Organizations, and Ephemera. Materials are arranged alphabetically within each series. Oversize materials are arranged in order within the series, but are housed separately at the end of the collection.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for use in the Dougherty Reading Room without restrictions. Please use the digital scans of the journals rather than the originals as a preservation measure.
Acquisitions Information
This collection was donated in 2010 by Margaret Sherby Fickel, Ralph Fickel's mother, after his death along with his book collection.
Processing Information
Processed by Cynthia Harbeson, 2011.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], AC.490: Ralph Fickel Papers, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C., USA.
Container List
Series I: Personal Papers, 1970-2008
Series Description
This series contains Fickel's journals, which he titled "Mountain Notes," school papers relating to his geography coursework, climbing notes, correspondence, and personal records such as certificates, employment records, and research materials. The materials are arranged alphabetically.
| ASU Contract, 1993 | Box 1.1 |
| ASU Survey | Box 1.2 |
| Blue Ridge Parkway Interpreter’s Manual | Box 1.3 |
Certificates |
Box 1.4 |
| Climbing Guides | Box 1.5 |
| Climbing Notes and Hand-drawn Routes | Box 1.6 |
| Correspondence, 1973-2003 | Box 1.7 |
| Crossnore School Reference Forms | Box 1.8 |
| Employment Records, 1998-2001, undated | Box 1.9 |
| Hound Ears Bouldering Competition | Box 1.10 |
| Journal of Argentina Trip, December 29, 2007- January 21, 2008 | Box 1.11 |
| Mountain Notes, Volumes I-III | Box 1.12 |
| Mountain Notes, Volumes IV-VI | Box 1.13 |
| Mountain Notes, Volumes VII-IX | Box 1.14 |
| Mountain Notes, Volume X | Box 2.1 |
| Notes, 1970, undated | Box 2.2 |
| Photograph of Fickel as a child | Box 2.3 |
| Research Materials | Box 2.4 |
| School papers- A Community Responds to the Pressures of Growth: The Foscoe-Grandfather Community | Box 2.5 |
| School papers - General | Box 2.6 |
| School papers - GHY 5200 assignments | Box 2.7 |
| School papers- Internship: Rough Ridge, A Visitor Impact Study-Grandfather Mountain, N.C., December 14, 1999 | Box 2.8 |
| School papers- Microcomputers in Geography and Planning, Spring 1992 | Box 2.9 |
| School papers- A Problem in Park Planning-The Rough Ridge Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina | Box 2.10 |
| Wildfire Powersaws Student Workbook, December, 1991 | Box 2.11 |
Series II: Maps, undated
Series Description
This series includes maps, both handdrawn and printed, that do not contain sufficient publication information to be cataloged into the library's collections as part of the Ralph Fickel Memorial Collection. The maps are arranged alphabetically. National parks, regional areas, and states are represented in these materials.
| Blue Ridge Parkway Area | Box 10.1 |
| California | Box 10.2 |
| Colorado & Montana | Box 10.3 |
| Hand-drawn and unpublished maps | Box 2.12 |
| Miscellaneous | Box 10.4 |
| Nantahwa National Forest | Oversize Folder 1 |
| National Parks | Oversize Folder 2 |
| Pisgah National Forest | Box 10.5 |
Series III: Organizations, undated
Series Description
This series contains information related to organizations such as the National Park Service, National Forest Service, Sierra Club, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Materials include brochures, newsletters, and manuscripts and are arranged alphabetically.
| American Alpine Club | Box 2.13 |
| Blue Ridge Parkway | Box 2.14 |
| Department of the Interior | Box 2.15 |
| Flying Moose Lodge | Box 3.1 |
| Historic Sites and Parks | Box 3.2 |
| International Parks | Box 3.3 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Arkansas | Box 3.4 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Georgia | Box 3.5 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Maryland | Box 3.6 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Mississippi | Box 3.7 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Missouri | Box 3.8 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Montana | Box 3.9 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-New Jersey | Box 3.11 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Pennsylvania | Box 3.12 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-South Carolina | Box 3.13 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Tennessee | Box 3.14 |
| Military Parks and Battlefields-Virginia | Box 3.15 |
| National Forests-California | Box 3.16 |
| National Forests-Colorado | Box 3.17 |
| National Forests-General | Box 3.18 |
| National Forests-Georgia | Box 3.19 |
| National Forests-New Hampshire | Box 3.20 |
| National Forests-North Carolina | Box 3.21 |
| National Forests-South Carolina | Box 3.22 |
| National Forests-Washington | Box 4.1 |
| National Forests-Wyoming | Box 4.2 |
| National Memorials | Box 4.3 |
| National Monuments-Alaska | Box 4.4 |
| National Monuments-Arizona | Box 4.5 |
| National Monuments-California | Box 4.6 |
| National Monuments-Colorado | Box 4.7 |
| National Monuments-Georgia | Box 4.8 |
| National Monuments-Idaho | Box 4.9 |
| National Monuments-Maryland | Box 4.10 |
| National Monuments-New Mexico | Box 4.11 |
| National Monuments-Ohio | Box 4.12 |
| National Monuments-Oregon | Box 4.13 |
| National Monuments-South Carolina | Box 4.14 |
| National Monuments-South Dakota | Box 4.15 |
| National Monuments-Utah | Box 4.16 |
| National Monuments-Washington, D. C. | Box 4.17 |
| National Park Service | Box 4.18 |
| National Parks-Acadia | Box 4.19 |
| National Parks-Canyonland | Box 4.20 |
| National Parks-Chaco Culture | Box 4.21 |
| National Parks-General | Box 4.22 |
National Parks-General |
Box 4.23 |
| National Parks-Grand Canyon | Box 5.1 |
| National Parks-Grand Teton | Box 5.2 |
| National Parks-Great Smoky Mountains | Box 5.3 |
| National Parks-Mount Ranier | Box 5.4 |
| National Parks-Natchez Trace Parkway | Box 5.5 |
| National Parks-North Cascades | Box 5.6 |
| National Parks-Redwood | Box 5.7 |
| National Parks-Rocky Mountains | Box 5.8 |
| National Parks-Sequoia and Kings Canyon | Box 5.9 |
| National Parks-Shenandoah | Box 5.10 |
| National Parks-Yellowstone | Box 5.11 |
| National Parks-Yosemite | Box 5.12 |
| National Parks-Zion | Box 5.13 |
| National Recreational Areas | Box 5.14 |
| National Seashores | Box 5.15 |
| Sierra Club-Argonaut | Box 6.1 |
| Sierra Club-Bartram Bulletin | Box 6.2 |
| Sierra Club-Book Catalogs | Box 6.3 |
| Sierra Club-Carolinas Group | Box 6.4 |
| Sierra Club-Foot Notes | Box 6.5 |
| Sierra Club-General | Box 6.6 |
| Sierra Club-Mountain Laurel | Box 6.7 |
| Sierra Club-White Water Canoeing Section | Box 6.8 |
| Sierra Club-Wilderness Outings | Box 6.9 |
Series IV: Ephemera, undated
Series Description
This series includes equipment catalogs, hiking guides, posters, and newsletters, all relating to climbing, hiking, or camping. The materials are arranged alphabetically by type of material, then by title.
| Appalachian Trail | Box 6.10 |
| Backpacking, Climbing, and Camping Guides | Box 6.11 |
| Catalogs-Adventures | Box 6.12 |
| Catalogs-Black Diamond | Box 6.13 |
| Catalogs-Black Diamond | Box 6.14 |
| Catalogs-Choinard Equipment | Box 6.15 |
| Catalogs-Great Pacific Ironworks | Box 7.1 |
| Catalogs-Grivel Mount Blanc | Box 7.2 |
| Catalogs-Hiking and Climbing, General | Box 7.3 |
| Catalogs-Hiking and Climbing, General | Box 7.4 |
| Catalogs-Hiking and Climbing, General | Box 7.5 |
| Catalogs-Hiking and Climbing, General | Box 7.6 |
| Catalogs-International Mountain Equipment, Inc. | Box 7.7 |
| Catalogs-Jagged Globe | Box 8.1 |
| Catalogs-Jagged Globe | Box 8.2 |
| Catalogs-Mammut | Box 8.3 |
| Catalogs-Metolius Climbing | Box 8.4 |
| Catalogs-Misty Mountain Threadworks | Box 8.5 |
| Catalogs-Mountain Tools | Box 8.6 |
| Catalogs-Mountain Travel | Box 8.7 |
| Catalogs-Mountain Travel | Box 8.8 |
| Catalogs-Palisades School of Mountaineering | Box 8.9 |
| Catalogs-Patagonia | Box 8.10 |
| Catalogs-Seminars and Expeditions | Box 9.1 |
| Catalogs-Seminars and Expeditions | Box 9.2 |
| Catalogs –The Ski Hut | Box 9.3 |
| Catalogs-Wild Things | Box 9.4 |
| Museums and Attractions | Box 9.5 |
| Newsletters-Access Notes | Box 9.6 |
| Newsletters-General | Box 9.7 |
| Newsletters-News World News and Views | Box 9.8 |
| Posters | Box 10.6 |
| State Parks | Box 9.9 |
Subject Headings
- Geography
- Mountaineering.
- Printed ephemera
- Rock climbing.
- Snow and ice climbing
