Linda Chaplinksy McMillan

Linda Chaplinsky McMillan (11/24/49 - 5/14/23)

Linda Chaplinsky McMillan, loving wife and mother, and advocate for mountain preservation and primitive mountain recreation, passed away peacefully on May 14, 2023. Her last days were in Moab, Utah, surrounded by family after a decade-long courageous battle against Alzheimer's disease. Throughout those last challenging years, Linda consistently maintained her cheerful, helpful, generous nature.

Linda was born in Houston, Texas on November 24, 1949, daughter of the late Michael Chaplinsky and Marie Pomercy Chaplinsky. She attended Memorial High School in Houston. After graduation in 1967, Linda attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated in 1972 with a B.A. in Latin American Studies. Her senior thesis was concerned with the "Role of the Indian in Modern Mexican Agrarianism". Linda received a Master of Business Administration from San Francisco State University in 1988.

Linda was an exceptional woman who loved adventure and was a gifted athlete. She was a surfer, sailor, and horseback rider during her youth. In her mid-30's Linda became interested in rock climbing through a community college program. The simple act of learning to climb in Yosemite Valley in the 1980s led her to devote the rest of her life to advocating on behalf of preserving the beauty of the mountains. Her passion for mountaineering and commitment to environmental causes had a lasting impact on the organizations and communities she served, including The American Alpine Club, The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA), the International Union for Conservation of Nation (IUCN) WCPA Mountains Biome, and communities of the Sierra Nevada, Nepal, and elsewhere.

Linda's passion for advocating for the protection of mountain environments and reasonable access to them led to travels across the globe. She worked to bring land managers, local communities, and climbers together to promote mountain stewardship. Linda was an internationally respected speaker on sustainable mountain practices and public partnerships. She worked to unify and empower diverse stakeholders to protect the world's mountains and their special cultures and economies. Over the years, she was featured at conferences in many countries, including Japan, Canada, Spain, Denmark, and Nepal. She was a member of the California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee and spent much of her time and effort focused on the Sierra Nevada region. Her lifetime commitment to mountain advocacy was recognized by these honors and awards:

- Delegated to the decennial IUCN World Parks Congresses in South Africa (2003) and Australia (2014), where she promoted the important part that climbers can play in the management and protection of mountain areas around the world.

- Received an Arrowhead Award from the US National Park Service in January 2003 "For your tireless work to create stewards for Yosemite National Park."

- Received an American Alpine Club Angelo Heilprin Citation for exemplary service in March 2003

- Recognized in May 2005 by the National Parks Conservation Association as an "American Making a Difference for Parks".

The disastrous Yosemite floods of 1997 prompted National Park officials to consider relocating housing for park employees and visitors. At the time, Linda was Vice President of the American Alpine Club. She played a pivotal role among a coalition of mountaineering and environmental groups who filed suit in federal court, seeking to stop a plan to construct employee housing and expand flood-damaged Yosemite Lodge into the Camp 4 area. Camp 4 is a birthplace of rock climbing's modern age and an enduring mecca for the adventurous. Climbers rallied around their scruffy but historic patch of earth and under Linda's wise leadership, "contention gave way to collaboration," as she later noted. In 2003 Camp 4 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to Linda, "What makes this dusty little campground so historic and unique is its freewheeling, dynamic spirit and the people drawn to it over the decades. Camp 4's spirit epitomizes the spirit of the American West-restless, unconventional, inventive, and filled with hope."

Linda was the Mountain Protection Commission President of the UIAA - the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, from 2008 to 2016. At the time Linda became only the third woman to become President of a UIAA Commission. She was instrumental in the creation of the Mountain Protection Award, which has become the UIAA's lighthouse project in sustainability and has made a significant difference to supporting climate and conservation-led initiatives worldwide. Linda's work with the UIAA came with the additional benefit of allowing her time to climb with international friends in Japan, Sweden, and South Africa.

Linda is survived by her loving husband of 35 years, Thomas Ian McMillan, who accompanied her on climbs in the US, the European Alps, northern Wales, Asia, and South America. She is also survived by her son Brandon Mills Davis, of Novato, California and a daughter, Stefanie Davis Trenchard, of Bainbridge Island, Washington, as well as two grandchildren.

The family requests that any gifts in her memory be directed to the UNICEF K.I.N.D fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, or to The Nature Conservancy.