Glacier National Park has released the names of the two Flathead County men who died in a climbing accident on Dusty Star Mountain.
The mountaineers were 67-year-old Brian McKenzie Kennedy from Columbia Falls, and 67-year-old Jack Dewayne Beard from Kalispell.
According to park staff who knew the men, Kennedy and Beard were considered expert climbers and have been climbing peaks in Glacier National Park for decades.
As long-time members, both men contributed greatly to the Glacier Mountaineering Society and were well-known in the Flathead Valley community.
The men were climbing Dusty Star Mountain and initiated the trip on July 21, planning to hike out July 22.
They were reported missing on July 24 and park rangers found their vehicle at the trailhead on the same day.
An air search began on July 24 in the Dusty Star Mountain area on the east side route of the approach. A Two Bear Air helicopter flew on July 24 in daylight and darkness.
Minuteman Aviation took over the air search with NPS spotters on board on the morning of July 25 and located their bodies; the bodies were then recovered by Two Bear Air.
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