Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario. On 8 July Brian Cook and Nicholas Pawley began climbing shortly after 6 p.m. on a grade four route up the cliff along Lake Mazinaw. Cook had led grade six climbs here and Pawley grade five. They planned to alternate the lead. The third pitch was a walk of a few feet through bushes to a 15 foot crack. Cook asked to lead this pitch from an excellent belay. He climbed the crack and placed a sling at the top before moving on to a block. He continued climbing and asked how much rope was left. There was about 30 feet. Almost immediately after his call a mass of rock and dirt poured over the belay, which was sheltered by an overhang. There was no answer to calls to Cook and the rope was found to be broken. Other climbers later ascended the crack, but there was no sign of Cook. His body was found next morning in the lake.

Death was due to drowning and there was a bad wound at the back of the skull. He was not wearing a hard hat.

The top of the climb is an old, very steep rock shoot, where the rocks have been held loosely together by soil and vegetation. An extremely wet year may have loosened the soil and vegetation. Such areas should be checked whenever possible at the beginning of a climbing season.

Source: Paddy Sherman.