On April 6 a male climber (62) was killed after falling from the top of Levada (5.8+), an 80-foot rock climb at the far west end of the Canal Zone crag. According to witnesses, he was off belay and standing on top of the route, and was beginning to clean the anchor in order to rappel. He fell in a horizontal position without a rope, landing on his side and ending up face down. All of the quickdraws were still attached to the route. The anchor was still in place, equipped with locking carabiners and runners. The rope, locking carabiners, and figure-8 rappel device landed in a pile next to the cliff.

Analysis

Based on the limited amount of information presented, it is difficult to determine exactly what happened. However, this incident should reinforce a fundamental of rappelling or cleaning anchors for lowering: The climber must remain attached to the anchor until he or she is ready to rappel or be lowered. (Source: Mark Vermeal.)