Mountaineer Jim Disney climbs no more

LOVELAND — Longtime artist and former Larimer County commissioner Jim Disney, 82, has died.

Good friend John Pfieffenberger confirmed that Disney died Monday. Funeral arrangements are pending at Viegut Funeral Home in Loveland

Disney served from 1993-2001 as a member of the Board of County Commissioners. A Democrat serving among Republicans, he prided himself on collaborative approaches to issues. Environmentally responsible land-use planning and long-range transportation planning were among the issues that captured his attention.

Disney was perhaps equally well known for his artistry and mountaineering. He was twice named Artist in Residence at Rocky Mountain National Park. His work captured the beauty of the Colorado mountains. He was commissioned to produce the official poster for the centennial of RMNP in 2014.

Disney loved to climb mountains. He climbed all of the 130 named summits in RMNP, all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks, about 1,000 mountains in the Western United States, Canada and Mexico including Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest peak.

Longs Peak in the national park was his most visited peak with 93 ascents. He once told the Loveland Kiwanis Club that he had climbed Longs during every month of the year, from every approach, and once he guided people to the peak every day for a week straight. Longs is considered one of the most difficult of the 14ers.

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, Disney rode his bicycle from Loveland to the Longs Peak trailhead, climbed the peak  and rode home in time for his birthday party.

“His goal this year was to climb to the Longs Peak boulder field one more time, but he wasn’t able to accomplish it,” Pfeiffenberger said. His last two years were a struggle because of health issues, he said.

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