As James Charles Patrick tumbled 1,000 feet down Taylor Glacier to his death Saturday morning, he pulled down a climbing rope, stranding his two companions on the “steep and treacherous” terrain near the 12,000-foot summit, the National Park Service said Sunday.
Patrick, 54, of Littleton is the fifth person killed in Rocky Mountain National Park this year, a high mark for the popular location that in many years sees no fatalities.
Public records show Patrick was a licensed master plumber and president of Cedar Gulch Plumbing in Littleton.
Park rangers had to rescue Patrick’s climbing partners, who have not been named, from where they anchored themselves amid the loose rocks, ice and snow, according to the park.
Two park rangers needed nearly five hours to reach Patrick’s body. They stayed with him overnight until he was airlifted out Sunday morning.
The cause of his fall is under investigation. The body was turned over to the Larimer County coroner on Sunday.
Taylor Glacier is about 15 miles east of Grand Lake between Taylor Peak and Powell Peak, about 5 miles from the Bear Lake trailhead.
Patrick is the 11th climber killed in Colorado this year. Though no one keeps formal records of climbing fatalities in Colorado, experts this month said 10 could be a record.
Three of the park’s five deaths this year were on Longs Peak.
The state’s peaks attract an estimated 500,000 climbers a year, according to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative.
Staff writer Kyle Glazier contributed to this report. Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
