Glacier National Park, Montana: 3 climbers were reported dead this week

A 79-year-old man from Florida was with a group of friends when he fell to his death as he was climbing a steep off-trail slope on Rising Wolf Mountain, officials said Tuesday in a news release.

“The friends descended to his location, yelled for help, and called 911 where Glacier County Dispatch then diverted the call to Glacier National Park,” park officials said in the statement.

An air emergency service was diverted from another incident and airlifted the man to Two Medicine Ranger Station, the park said. The man was declared deceased by emergency personnel, according to the news release.

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His death was the third reported in the park in two days.

On Monday, the park said it found the bodies of two climbers — Brian McKenzie Kennedy and Jack Dewayne Beard — both 67 years old from Montana. They were considered expert climbers who have been climbing mountains in the park for decades, the park said in a news release, citing park staff who knew them personally.

The pair were climbing Dusty Star Mountain when they became overdue and were reported missing Sunday, setting off a search.

In June 2020, 20-year-old climber Josh Yarrow died at the park after falling several hundred feet from a ridge known as the Dragon’s Tail, a steep, off-trail climbing route southwest of Reynolds Mountain.