Authorities say a former Rocky Mountain National Park ranger who participated in multiple rescues on Longs Peak, the park's highest mountain, has died.
The Boulder County Coroner's Office said Friday that 60-year-old Jim Detterline's body was found Tuesday outside Allenspark, where he lived. The cause of death hasn't been released, but the sheriff's department says Detterline was wearing climbing gear and was lying between large rock formations when he was found.
Tom Hornbein, one of the first people to ascend Mount Everest, was a close friend of Detterline's and called him a meticulous climber, a caring person and a skilled rescuer.
Hornbein says Detterline was passionate about Longs Peak and ascended it more than 400 times.
Hornbein called Detterline "Mr. Longs Peak."
