David McKinlay Jones ’78

David McKinlay Jones ’78 passed away from natural causes at home in Tucson, Arizona, on December 27, 2021. Dave came to Dartmouth from Darien, Connecticut, and graduated with a degree in geology. He was an avid climber, caver, kayaker, and guitar player. “Dave taught me how to rock climb on Bartlett Tower,” recalled classmate Dave Hathaway, “and I remember many trips to the Gunks, North Conway, and Canon with him.” Dave went on to get a master’s in geology at the University of Arizona in 1987 and became a leader in Mexico’s gold exploration industry. He is credited with the discovery of one of the world’s largest gold deposits, Los Filos, in what is now known as the Guerro Gold Belt in Mexico. As a climber, Dave made several first ascents on big walls in Zion National Park in Utah and was part of an expedition that summited Huntington in Alaska. As a caver, he led expeditions that discovered major sections of Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad National Park in New Mexico as well as caves in Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexico. At the time of his death he was preparing for a January cave-exploration trip to Oaxaca. As a kayaker, he made an annual solo kayak trip from his summer home in Friendship, Maine, to Monhegan Island—a thirty-mile roundtrip. He also loved racing his sailboat. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, stepdaughter Jackie, and brother Peter.