Wild Women: The First Female Rangers of Grand Teton National Park

By Julie Ellison

“There used to be a day when men were rangers and rangers were men, and ladies in the national park service were few and far between,” begins an article in the 1974 newsletter handed out to visitors in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). Amidst a larger movement in the U.S., the second wave of feminism had women filling roles that were previously only held by men, and GTNP was no different. The following few years would be a heyday for women stepping into outdoor leadership positions in the park.

That year, Jane Baldwin, then 23, became the first female backcountry ranger, followed by Patty McDonald as the second that same year. Anne-Marie Rizzi was the first female climbing ranger in 1977, with Jean Ruwitch Dempsey becoming the second the following year.

Baldwin began working for the park service in 1973 at the permits desk.

continued on pg. 28

July 26, 1973. John Carr, Susan Enger, Jane Baldwin and Chuck Schaap at Moose Basin Patrol Cabin in Grand Teton National Park.

“As the permits person, you got to hike one day a week and work the desk four days a week,” Baldwin said. The policy was to let the employees hike so they could tell people about the trails they were about to use, and they had to keep a log of where they hiked. Then, District Ranger Tom Milligan was always coming and going from park headquarters where Baldwin worked, and by reading the log, he noticed Baldwin had hiked more than anyone else. He asked her to be a backcountry ranger.

“I was honored and shocked and surprised,” she said. “I jumped at the chance.”

Baldwin credits Milligan’s open-mindedness for giving women opportunities earlier than a lot of other park supervisors. McDonald and Dempsey shared this sentiment since they were also hired by Milligan, who passed away in June 2021.

“He really did some ‘out of the box’ thinking,” Dempsey said. “He realized that women were as good as men, and he made it happen.”

While Baldwin was the ranger for Garnet Canyon in 1974, McDonald was her counterpart in Cascade and Paintbrush canyons. McDonald had worked at the entrance gate in 1973, which was the first year they were permitted to hold the position. At the end of that summer season, she told her boss, Subdistrict Ranger Ralph Tingey, “I’d like to come back next year and be considered a ranger.”

“Girls can’t be rangers,” he said.

“It didn’t seem fair because I did a good job,” she said almost fifty years later. Being told no because she was a girl just made her more determined, so soon after, she marched into the office of Park Superintendent Gary Everhardt and told him, “I’d like to be considered a ranger next summer.”

“He leaned back in his chair and said, ‘Why don’t you talk to Tom Milligan?’” McDonald recounted. She was already doing a lot of hiking and climbing on her own, so Milligan gave her an assignment.

“I want you to spend two weeks hiking and climbing as much as you can, keep a journal, then report back.” She hiked and climbed her tail off and took her journal to him two weeks later. “I think we would like you to come back next summer as a ranger,” he said.

“It was great,” she said. “It was maybe the best job of my life—it was a blast!” She spent five days a week patrolling the trails and backcountry areas, and camping in the canyons with her guitar. From her vantage point above Holly Lake, she could see the trails and recreationists below. She would spend five days a week in Paintbrush and Cascade canyons, then come down to Jackson for a few days for a steak dinner and dancing before heading back up into the mountains. “I loved my life,” she said.

A few years after Baldwin and McDonald helped pave the way for women to get hired in ranger positions, Rizzi came on as the first female Jenny Lake climbing ranger. Following Rizzi, Dempsey had a more traditional path to becoming the second female Jenny Lake climbing ranger: She filled out an application.

Growing up in Boulder, Colorado, Dempsey started climbing when she was 15 in a rock and snow class hosted by the Colorado Mountain Club and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group. She fell in love with the movement and took to it quickly because of her background as a gymnast and avid hiker. With dozens of crags in a small area, Boulder was a hot spot for climbing, and Dempsey climbed all the time. At age 20, she moved to Eldorado Springs, Colorado, the enclave just outside the entrance to the famed climbing area Eldorado Canyon.

In her early 20s, she climbed the Grand Teton with a few of her family members and got her first taste of the high alpine Teton Range. After a few more years of climbing in Boulder and the recreational mecca of Yosemite Valley, California, once or twice a year, she decided to go back to the high mountains. She contacted the park service, and they sent her a paper application that included listing some of the climbs she had completed. With plenty of 5.10 and 5.11 ascents under her belt, there was no doubt of her proficiency. She was hired.

“It was just a playground for the first summer,” she said. In between her patrols in Garnet Canyon and up to the Lower Saddle, she climbed every route she could, including the Snaz, Irene’s Arete, Baxter’s Pinnacle, Exum Direct and the South Buttress of Moran.

She remembers Moran as her favorite adventure. “It was the whole experience, taking a canoe across Leigh Lake, camping and hiking to the base,” she said. “I wanted to lead the crux pitch, and I did it onsight and in good style.” When a male climbing partner climbed it the following week, he said, “I knew you were a guy because it took balls to climb that.”

Despite his misgendering, she felt validated. “It felt great to have him say that,” she said. She was also enamored with riding in the helicopter, which she frequently did as the lightest member of the rescue team, since the weight-to-fuel ratio in a helicopter is critical. “We flew with an ex-Vietnam helicopter pilot, and he was just wild and so skilled. He could hover with one skid on the cliff and one hanging in space, he would let us off, and then he would just dive down these headwalls. It was just so exciting.” continued on pg. 32 & 33

A newspaper article from 1974 featuring Jane and fellow female climbing rangers.

If you’re looking to explore the national parks, Wildlife Expeditions is a natural choice! The organization has been taking visitors in to the local National Parks to experience the magic of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 1999. With customized, all-window seat vans and experienced naturalist guides, this is a peak experience in the iconic mountains.

Jean Otto, the client experience director for Teton Science Schools, shares her thoughts:

Q: Over the years, what has remained integral to Wildlife Expeditions operations?

A: Our focus has always been, and continues to be, joining people with nature. Our guides, as well as all of our staff, understand that the opportunity for all to experience and fall in love with the splendor of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton eco-system ensures the protection of this fragile valley. We, as humans, protect what we love.

Q: What can people expect from a Wildlife Expeditions’ guide?

A: Visitors can expect a grand mix of the sciences including Geology, Botany, Environmental and Ethology from our seasoned Naturalist Guides. Like having your absolute favorite, fun teacher on a field trip!

Q: What can always be expected on a Wildlife Expeditions tour?

A: It is always exciting to see the large mammals such as bears, bison and moose but our guests are amazed to find up to 64 other mammals living in the park. There are also 300 species of birds and reptiles and amphibians too!

History Of Lady Rangers In Grand Teton National Park

Lady Rangers of the 1970s

Jane Baldwin, first female backcountry ranger, 19741976

Patty McDonald, second female backcountry ranger, 1974-76

While hindsight provides context for how pivotal these firsts for women are now, at the time, none of the women thought becoming rangers would earn them a spot in history. In fact, Dempsey didn’t even know she was the second female climbing ranger until a few years ago.

These ladies followed their own inspiration, doing whatever they needed to do to get where they wanted to go. Today, it’s commonplace to see women as rangers in GTNP, and in August 2021, Erika Jostad was named Chief Ranger of GTNP, the first woman to hold the position in the park’s 92-year history.

Anne-Marie Rizzi first female climbing ranger, 1977

Jean Ruwitch Dempsey, second female climbing ranger, 1978-79

While Baldwin, McDonald and Dempsey are all hesitant to accept their roles as inspirations for future generations of females, perhaps that old 1974 article in the GTNP newsletter said it best: “Where they today lead, other women will follow.”

Julie Ellison is a writer and photographer based in Victor, Idaho. She seeks out stories that reflect the unique social issues of this region and elevate the fascinating individuals who live here. Her favorite things are coffee, reading, climbing, bikes and dogs.