YAKIMA, Wash. -- T.J. Langley enjoyed being on a stage in front of people, and being in the solitude of wilderness.

Described by family and friends as an avid mountaineer, the 42-year-old actor was hiking last week in the Glacier Peak Wilderness in the North Cascades when he died in an apparent fall near the summit of Luahna Peak. His body was found Saturday by searchers who had begun looking for him Thursday after he didn't return from a planned two-day hike.

"He reveled in every minute he could possibly spend outdoors in the mountains," his younger sister, Joy Langley, said Tuesday.

A 1985 graduate of West Valley High School, Langley lived in Seattle and was a veteran performer with The Repertory Actors Theatre, which is described on its Web site as a "multi-ethnic philanthropic theatre company" that raises funds for charities and arts-related organizations.

"He was just a really genuine guy, very generous," said Tim Halder, a friend who was Langley's frequent mountain-climbing partner. "He lived a simple life; he didn't have a lot of money or possessions, but he was always generous about sharing with others."

What turned out to be his final climb was part of Langley's attempt to reach the summits of the 100 highest peaks in the state.

"This would have been number 84," Halder said Tuesday by phone from Seattle.

He and another searcher found Langley's body while searching the area near the route Halder thought his friend would have climbed.

Halder, who borrowed a mountain bike from Langley the day before he left for his Luahna Peak climb, said he wasn't too worried when Langley wasn't back the night of Oct. 6 as planned, because the climb could have taken longer than planned. Or, Langley's old car might have broken down on the 30-mile gravel road he had to travel.

But by Thursday morning, Halder notified Chelan County authorities and the search began.

Langley spent a year in Australia on a student exchange program during high school, then went to the University of Washington and earned a bachelor of arts degree in drama.

His death came 10 years after he survived being mauled by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. Langley's encounter on a hiking trail unfortunately put him between the female grizzly and her cubs, and the bear "broke every bone in his skull," his sister recalled.

Langley, who also suffered a broken pelvis, was alone on the trail but managed to hike four miles to a road, where he found someone who called for help.

That life-threatening ordeal didn't diminish his enthusiasm for wilderness treks. Joy Langley said her brother went hiking in the Cascades a month later, and marked the one-year anniversary of the attack by hiking the same Yellowstone trail -- though this time accompanied by others -- where he met the bear.

She also said her brother had only recently become adept at another mode of mountain travel -- skiing -- so that he could go with friends on a trip to Italy.

Halder said Langley's goal beyond climbing the state's highest peaks was to leave his longtime job as an apartment building manager and spend a few years traveling overseas, as he did after college.

"He wanted to live in other places," Halder said, adding, "I was really excited for him to do that."

He said he'll miss Langley most because he was "someone I could count on as a good friend."

Memorial services for Langley, whose parents still live in Yakima, will be held Friday in Seattle and
at 1 p.m. Saturday in Yakima at Westminster Presbyterian Church.