EP 34: Roger Volkmann — Five Principles of Life, Tough vs. Strong, and Devils Tower

Roger Volkmann is a retired Orthopedic Surgeon and a lifelong climber. Roger suffered a severe stroke in 2010 at age 55 and was not expected to walk again. Through sheer grit and determination, he managed not only to walk again but to climb. We talked about his stroke, his five principles of life, climbing in the Midwest as a kid, and his three attempts to summit Devils Tower after the stroke.  

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patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/roger-volkmann  

Roger’s Five Principles of Life:  

1 – Life is Movement  

2 – Tough is Better Than Strong  

3 – Work Pays Off  

4 – People are Inherently Good  

5 – God Listens to Prayer  

Nuggets:  

2:38 – Building the spiral staircase for Roger’s treehouse  

3:44 – Wood projects, and Roger’s retirement plan  

4:59 – Stage 1 of Roger’s incident: the carotid dissection, and the bike crash  

10:10 – Losing the farm in an F5 tornado, missing teeth, and going back to work on Monday  

12:47 – The seizure, transferring to St. Paul Hospital, and the frozen skull bone  

17:16 – Waking up into a nightmare, “a state of denial and a state of confusion”, vomiting, hiccups, and losing feeling in his leg  

20:53 – Roger’s first two principles of life, and tough vs. strong  

22:56 –  Roger’s third principle of life, taking a jet back to Wenatchee, and falling down unannounced  

27:37 – The Paris Marathon, rewiring the brain, and ambulating  

30:49 – “Unpromising moments”, and re-learning how to walk  

32:43 – Roger’s physical therapist, caffeine, and walking The Loop trail w/ Grace  

35:14 – Cutting his teeth climbing at Devils Tower  

36:36 – The goal to re-climb Devils Tower after the stroke  

38:02 – Small goals, climbing at Vantage, and re-learning how to tie his shoes one-handed  

40:03 – Climbing one-handed, milestones, and attempting “The Tower” for the first time post-stroke  

43:25 – Roger’s fourth principle of life, and finding what you look for in people  

44:28 – More about the first attempt on Devils Tower, Roger’s worse climbing experience (being lowered in the dark), and rain and lightning  

47:00 – The second failed attempt, and the third (and successful) attempt on Devils Tower post-stroke  

59:59 – Left side neglect, disinhibition, and impatience  

1:04:39 – Praying to make it through the day, and doing one constructive thing per day  

1:05:57 – Roger’s fifth principle of life, squeaky pears, and a home math problem  

1:09:59 – Climbing the dairy barn at age 10 and vaulting through the hay door  

1:13:44 – Bird boxes and climbing trees  

1:17:26 – Climbing silos  

1:20:50 – Climbing ‘Aortic Arch’ (A1)  

1:23:02 – A Patron Question, “More work more reward”, and effort vs. work  

1:25:55 – Gratitude  

1:27:06 – Roger’s next goal  

1:27:49 – Returning to Devils Tower to be a tourist, Roger’s prosthesis, and Fat Tire beer