Robbi Mecus

Robbi Ann Mecus (1971 to April 25, 2024) was an American forest ranger and mountaineer. Mecus was a trans woman, and was considered a role model and pioneering figure for other LGBTQ climbers and forest rangers.

Life

Mecus was born in Queens, New York City, and raised in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in a Catholic blue collar family. She was introduced to the word 'transsexual' in middle school. Her first exposure to LGBTQ people was in her Long Island high school in the late 1980s, where one student was rumored to be gay. As a young adult, Mecus moved back to New York City. During the winter, she enforced snowshow regulations on Cascade Mountain. and saved multiple lives as a ranger; one such rescue was written about in the New York Times two weeks before her death. Mecus was known as a strong mountain climber, and would accompany other climbers of all ability levels. In 2022, Mecus and Melissa Orzechowski established the Adirondack Queer Ice Fest.

Mecus died on April 25, 2024, after falling about 1,000 feet while climbing Mount Johnson in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She was 52. Her climbing partner, Melissa Orzechowski, was seriously injured, but survived. On April 30, the town of Keene, New York passed a resolution in honor of Mecus's life. A Celebration of Life event for Mecus was held in Keene on June 22, 2024. In April 2025, the NYDEC held a flag raising ceremony at the organization's headquarters in Ray Brook in honor of Mecus on Trans Day of Visibility.

Personal life Mecus was married and had one daughter. After identifying privately as a crossdresser for many years, she came out to her wife in December 2015 as a trans woman. She came out publicly in 2016, at age 44, and found support with her coworkers.