Climber, mountain guide, educator and activist Jim Ratz was killed May 4 in a fall in Sinks Canyon, near his home in Lander, Wyoming. Ratz, 52, was climbing alone in the canyon and appears to have been rappelling or preparing to rappel when the accident happened, although there were no witnesses and the evidence is not conclusive.
Ratz worked as a guide and co-owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. He was a longtime leader of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and served as executive director of the school from 1984 to 1995. An active conservationist, Ratz was the founding chairman of Leave No Trace Inc. He also served on the board of directors of the American Mountain Guides Association. Ratz was married with two children.
