The mountain-climbing community and a Modesto middle school are mourning the death of a climber in Yosemite National Park.
Patricia “Trish” Stoops died June 8 while negotiating Middle Cathedral Rock, a popular venue for climbers located south of El Capitan. A death notice posted by a funeral home listed her age as 57.
“Goodbye to my dear, 20-year climbing friend. I will miss your adventurous spirit.” — Mary Lohrman, posted on climbers message board
Stoops was a teacher’s aide at Glick Middle School in Modesto and a member of the
Southern California Mountaineers Association. A tribute to Stoops was posted on a
message forum for climbers.
Late last year, Stoops and Glick teacher Jamey Olney
led a group of students to Paradise, the Northern California town ravaged by the Camp Fire. The students’ cleanup efforts in Paradise grew out of a project Stoops and Glick started at the school called The H.O.P.E. Project — Helping Other People Everywhere.
Related Story: PG&E Power Lines Triggered Deadly Paradise Fire, State Officials Say
A few days after the incident in Yosemite, Olney posted a tribute to her friend on Facebook:
The tributes continued on the Mountain Project forum, where people shared their memories of Stoops.
Carrying On in Her Memory
“I never met a climber more dedicated to supporting our tribe than Trish,” Pam Neal wrote. “She selflessly gave of her time, leading skills, friendship, and humor to anyone in the vicinity. Funny, spontaneous, gregarious, and sincere, Trish made an impression on anyone she met.”
Mary Lohrman added: “Goodbye to my dear, 20-year climbing friend. I will miss your adventurous spirit.”
Olney said in her Facebook post that she and her H.O.P.E. Project students would go forward with plans to help build a home for a family in Mexico. A Gofundme account for the homebuilding initiative was several thousand dollars short of its goal as of Monday afternoon.
“We are going to see this project to completion,” Olney wrote, “and honor the life and legacy of an angel here on Earth.”
