Climber dies in 300-foot plunge off rope as partner shouts warning, Utah rescuers say

A climber who rappelled off the end of a rope plummeted 300 feet to their death in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah rescuers reported.

The fatal fall took place on the weekend of June 3, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team wrote June 6 on Facebook.

Two people canyoneering at the Great White Icicle formation in the canyon decided not to knot the end of their rappel ropes out of concern the knots would become stuck and cause problems in the rushing water below, rescuers wrote.

One of the climbers mistakenly passed the next rappel station, rescuers said. Their partner tried to shout a warning but the rushing water below drowned it out.

The first climber rappelled off the end of the rope and fell 300 feet, rescuers said.

Their partner got to them and tried to administer first aid, but could not save the climber.

“This was a very sad accident that happened to a well prepared, experienced party,” rescuers said.

Two other recent rescues also ended in fatalities, the search team said. In one, a rock fall on Storm Mountain killed a climber and a fall killed at Big Cottonwood Canyon climber, possibly because of an equipment failure.

Rescuers urged climbers to be “constantly vigilant” but added, “This is in no way intended to point blame at anyone involved in these accidents.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Climber dies in 300-foot plunge off rope as partner shouts warning, Utah rescuers say."