On July 30, Lloyd Ramsey (70), a local climber well known to the park staff and climbing community, was found dead at the base of the Foreign Trade Zone/Bat Out of Hell area. He had fallen a distance estimated at 50 feet by authorities. He was wearing his harness with a rope attached. No anchors were rigged for either a rappel or climb. Local climbers noted that Lloyd avoided rappelling, and he was also known to do a lot of roped solo climbing. Lloyd was careful about building anchors, but could be too casual around cliff edges. He suffered extensive trauma in the fall.

Analysis

State park rangers found Lloyd during the conduct of a hasty search after his van was found in the parking lot when the park had closed. He was wearing a climbing harness and hiking boots. His climbing pack was found at the top of the cliff, zipped shut and neatly organized. It contained his climbing shoes, some climbing gear, and water. A 70-foot climbing rope was attached to his harness with a Grigri. Tied above the Grigri on the climbing rope was a double-loop figure-of-eight knot. The rope was attached to a doubled 50-foot rope (25 feet in length) that appeared to be prepared for an anchor with a locking carabiner and a double-loop figure-of-eight knot. The opposite end of the 25-foot anchor line had a double overhand loop tied into it. It was not attached to any anchor point. The investigation by state park personnel and experienced climbers was unable to identify a specific cause for this tragic incident. Climbing alone has many drawbacks. This is one of them. (Source: Pilot Mountain State Park, Aram Attarian.)