During his almost three decades of Sierra Club activities Bill T. Russell engaged in all aspects of the Angeles Chapter's outings program-trip leader trainer and educator of leaders navigation guru management of outings groups historian and archivist and superb exemplar of Sierra Club Outings traditions and culture. He was an extremely active leader of Hundred Peaks Section Desert Peaks Section and Sierra Peaks Section trips for more than twenty-five years averaging more than a dozen trips a year throughout that period. He led all the more difficult as well as the easier peaks and had an exceptional reputation for leading safe well-planned and superbly navigated successful trips. Experienced participants on these trips were left with great memories while newcomers were introduced to the mountains in the best possible way. Bill T. was one of those rare birds-a "Triple List Finisher having climbed all of the peaks on the Hundred Peeks Section (HPS) the Desert Peaks Section (DPS) and the Sierra Peaks Section (SPS) lists. Not only did he finish all three but also knocked off the Desert Peaks list twice the Hundred Peaks list three times and achieved a second "Senior Emblem" with the Sierra Peaks. For several years he was the Chairman of the Angeles Chapter Leadership Training Committee (LTC) which is responsible for leader training within the chapter. He organized and conducted classes lectured improved the curriculum etc. As an editor and co-author of the "Leaders Reference Book" he made major contributions to several editions of this enduring guidance and reference source for Angeles Chapter outings leaders (also used in several other Sierra Club Chapters). Russell is the principal author of the chapter on Navigation an art that he had studied in great depth and practiced with great skill. He instituted the "Navigation Noodle" instructional outings for potential trip leaders and conducted them for many years. In addition to his leadership in navigation he also served as the LTC snow climbing chair as a rock climbing instructor and as a safety examiner for both the LTC and SPS. Bill T. Russell was unique in the Sierra Club as the only person who had been the chair of the LTC and of the SPS DPS and HPS Management Committees. Russell also served on the Angeles Chapter Executive Committee represented the Angeles Chapter on the Sierra Club National Mountaineering Committee and worked for many years on the Angeles Chapter Safety Committee.-Excerpted from March 1997 Southern Sierran obituary by Duane McRuer

Above right: Bill T. at 1991 DPS Banquet.

Above left: November 26 1977 DPS trip to Superstition. Photo taken on summit.