A Tribute to Mountaineer Nola Royce

By Sonja Stark

“If you’re serious about peak-bagging, you need to have the right gear,” she said, lending me one of her hiking poles. My kneecaps writhed in pain as we descended the steep, uneven terrain of the Adirondacks. It relieved the pressure but it was still torture. This wouldn’t be the first time Nola’s momentum on the mountains put mine to shame.  

Nola Royce (Athlete Profile, July 2004), was 62 years old, 25 years my senior, when she introduced me to Giant Mountain. It was also her first Adirondack high peak when she hiked it, way back in 1973. It was a warm, spring day, a few months after moving to the Capital Region from Queens. It was the beginning of a love affair with heights that would last for the next 50 years. 

At just under five-feet tall and light as a feather, Nola’s indomitable spirit was as high as the mountains she scaled. She lived in Delmar, but rarely would you find her car parked in the driveway. Her adventures took her all over the planet for expeditions on all seven continents.  

You’d be hard pressed to list every summit Nola hiked or every mile she biked or every elevation she climbed. For those who try, here’s a head start from that lofty list: 20,332’ Denali in Alaska, 16,050’ Mount Vinson in Antarctica (twice), 26,362’ Gasherbrum II (K4) in Pakistan, 23,406’ Peak Lenin in Russia, 19,341’ Mount Kilimanjaro (Uluru) in Tanzania, 14,411’ Mount Rainier in Washington and on and on…

Given Nola’s capacity to soar, especially where others might sink, helped her endure a lifetime of physical and mental hurdles. Whether it was breast cancer, skin cancer, heart disease or hip replacement, she always found a way to mend herself back to the mountains that she loved.

In 1995, she and ten other breast cancer survivors, collectively called Expedition Inspiration, braved a daring six-day assault to Mt. Aspiring in New Zealand. Although the attempt was thwarted by bad weather, the team was empowered by the experience. They raised awareness and thousands of dollars in donations for cancer research.  

Beyond the preparation and self-discipline needed to navigate high altitudes, more importantly, Nola knew when not to take risks. If adverse weather or her stamina were in question she’d return to the trailhead. Remarkably, she was never bothered by elevation gain. Acute mountain sickness (dizziness, headache, muscle aches) or, even worse, pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, was a very real concern over 8,000 feet, but she acclimated quickly and was less susceptible. 

Escaping to the woods solo was not a social norm back in the 70s but her need to “soak in the beauty of the mountains” so she said, was overpowering. Luckily, her job as a senior administrator for the Capital Region BOCES school system afforded her the flexibility to follow her passion.

While no stranger to newspaper interviews or magazine mentions, Nola was never one to brag or boast. Her humility and indifference to her many achievements could be most frustrating! Whenever I mentioned that she should write her memoirs (she was a prolific reader/writer too), she would nonchalantly brush the idea off. “I’ve never done anything that hasn’t been done before,” she would say.

Later in years, Nola transitioned into a much-loved yoga instructor and personal fitness trainer at the Bethlehem YMCA. You had to arrive early to find a spot else the class would fill up to capacity. Still, she was never quite ready to give up defying gravity.  

In 2010, just shy of her 65th, she called her good friend and fellow hiker Craig Geiselhart. From atop Little Bear, the last of Colorado 58 peaks above 14,000 feet of elevation that she took 15 years to summit, she exclaimed: “I did it! I’m officially a 14er.” Unlike other patches earned, she would go on to sew this one onto her pack. With every milestone, her tiny but muscular frame was always dwarfed by the size of it. 

Nola was a female pioneer in the early years. She earned her summer and winter patches with the Adirondack 46ers, Catskill 3500 Club, and the White Mountain Four Thousand Footers, when peak-bagging was a fairly new endeavor. The rules of each club required summiting between 35-48 mountains at the time, with some repeated as bushwhacks during the winter season.     

Author Carol White dedicated three pages of her 2005 book, “Women with Altitude” to Nola. She was one of 29 who solo-wintered all 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Nola was the third woman to finish the Winter 46er, and the first woman to do so in the 1980s. “Whenever Nola showed her extensive slideshow at Forty-Sixers meetings, she certainly wowed the audience!” Carol said.  

None of these ‘firsts’ were easy feats given that the wilderness then was more intimidating than it is now. Fewer trail markers, less people and rougher conditions made spending the night in a lean-to scarier. It’s no wonder Nola was always more adept at reading a compass and map than a GPS. She had no choice in the beginning. 

My favorite part of hiking with Nola? That’s easy! It was the time she allowed for self-discovery and environmental awareness. The proverbial ‘pretty views’ were always a sight for sore eyes but it was Nola’s perspectives on how much had changed that I found so compelling.    

In 2007, WWF designated her a Climate Witness to the loss of glaciers worldwide and the thinning ice and snow season in the Northeast US. Nola always carried a small camera in her pocket to document unusual flowers, animal tracks and the pet pooches she met on the trail. Later in years, as her heart slowed, so did her pace but never her perseverance. When the impulse hit, she’d drive to Woodstock and ascend the fire tower atop Overlook Mountain to gratify some inner-yearning for peace and connection. I will forever admire my dear friend for her independence, confidence and self-awareness.

When not hiking, Nola donated her time to To Life! – a nonprofit dedicated to the support and care of women battling breast cancer. She was an early activist for the women’s rights movements, rallied for economic justice and reproductive rights, was deeply affected by politics and encouraged young people to vote.

At age 78, this proven powerhouse of fitness, skill and sacrifice passed away in her sleep shortly after being admitted to Samaritan Hospital. March 12, 2024 still feels surreal for a spirit as alive at hers. The one thing she evaded all her life at great altitudes, pulmonary edema, turned into her avalanche at sea-level. A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at Bethlehem YMCA in Delmar on Saturday, April 27 from 11am-2pm.

Sonja Stark of PilotGirl Productions is a freelance TV and news shooter/editor: pilotgirlproductions@gmail.com. She and her mom Helma Bond spent nearly 20 years hiking, biking, and skiing with Nola.