Death in Rocky Mountain National Park (Death in the Parks)

...everything you should consider when visiting the Rockies. This is a very telling story of many mishaps and accidents that, in a lot of instances, could have been prevented. There are many good tips and information also included in the back of the book.

I enjoy books on this subject and had been wanting this one to add to my collection. Thank you

As with other books I have read by Randi Minetor, her extensive research is impressive! All of her sources are documented in the reference section. It's difficult to read story after story of individuals who have lost their lives to the beloved RMNP. Whenever available, Randi added personal background to help the reader see each death as an individual, rather than just another statistic. The epilogue contains tips for all of us to help us stay safe, specifically in this park. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys experiencing the great outdoors and would like to do it safely.

I loved the book. Randy's style is easy flowing, with enough detail to make it vivid without being overbearing. Interesting perspective. The amazing awareness from reading the book is about how many young people, and otherwise experienced people get overconfident and loose their life. In retrospect, things I was doing while in college came very close to some of the dumb things reflected in the book. That's when the book became very personal. Enjoyable and informative reading.

This book is a great read on a depressing subject. Minetor manages to catalog the many ways and places one can die in RMNP in an intriguing read. This is much like rubber-necking at a traffic accident as you read again & again how people make bad decisions about gear, weather, and their own capabilities thus causing their untimely demise. Plus, there are the victims of plain ol' bad luck, like the guy who was at a picnic when a random rock fell on his head and killed him. Regardless of how they perished or how long ago, due to Minetor's excellent writing, this book is hard to put down.

I was very impressed by the volunteers and Rangers that risked their lives so family’s could have closure.It is a must read for anyone thinking of venturing out to hike the mountains, even those experienced climbers.

The author seems to really focus on early 20th century climbing accidents. Even when she brushes on more recent events, the writing is boring, almost like reading newspaper clippings ad nauseam. I could not finish the book.

This book is full of errors, omissions, contradictions, and awkward wording. The author doesn’t appear to be familiar with the Park or surrounding areas, nor basic knowledge. In one section the book says that one of the missing people left from the Longs Peak Trailhead, while in another it says the person’s car was found at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead. These locations are many miles apart. The book refers to trailheads that don’t exist, e.g. “The Loft TH.” One section mentions a “Long Lake Trailhead”, which is actually outside of the Park by many miles. The author probably meant the Lawn Lake Trailhead. In one part it suggests that one would pass Chasm Lake on the way to the Boulder Field, when that is nearly impossible (one does pass Chasm Lake JUNCTION on the way to the Boulder Field). That same section suggests that the Boulder Field is on the “upper edge of the tree line” when the nearest trees are over a mile away as the crow flies, and over two miles via trail. The same section suggests that it is four miles from the Boulder Field to the summit of Longs Peak, when in reality, it is only about a mile, albeit, a very difficult mile. In the section on lightning we are told that before a lightning strike the electrons in the ground become “positively charged” (electrons are always negatively charged). In one part we are advised to make sure the GPS device we are using is satellite based in case there isn’t cell service (all GPS devices are satellite based - GPS, or the Global Positioning System is a constellation of satellites operated by the US Government. Other governments have similar constellations and generically these are referred to as GNSS or Global Navigation Satellite Systems). Yet another part talks about Signal Mountain “not being the highest mountain in the Park”, when in fact Signal Mountain isn’t even in the Park (SOUTH Signal Mountain is on the boundary between RMNP and Roosevelt National Forest , but Signal Mountain itself is outside the Park). These are just a few of the long list of issues I have found with this book.