Man who fell on Grinnell Glacier trail was avid hiker

The Omaha, Neb., man who died July 18 on Glacier National Park's Grinnell Glacier Trail leaves behind a wife and two young children.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, Nicholas Ryan, 30, was a former strength coach of the University of Nebraska and owned Fitness Together, an Omaha health business. Ryan endured strength and endurance competitions and loved hiking trips, reporter Sam Womack wrote.

Eric Ryan said that according to Park officials, his younger brother died instantly after falling 280 feet onto a steep snowfield and rock along the trail. The Glacier County Coroner's Office will verify the cause of death, and Park officials will investigate the cause of the fall.

The Grinnell Glacier Trail is mostly flat from Many Glacier to Grinnell Lake but climbs steeply via switchbacks from there to Upper Grinnell Lake and the Grinnell Glacier. A waterfall that sprays the trail could create hazards this time of year.

Park officials posted a "snow hazard" sign at the trailhead on June 28 and travel on this trail is not advised. Much of the trail is snow-covered, and there are steep, hazardous snow bridges two miles beyond Josephine Lake. Initial clearing of the trail is not expected until the end of July.

• In other Glacier Park news, a woman was reportedly injured after falling from a horse about two miles from Lake McDonald Lodge, and a person suffered a broken leg near Red Rock Point, on the Going-to-the-Sun Road east of Avalanche Campground.