On June 30, Austin Howell (31) met climber/photographer Ben Wu at the Shortoff Mountain trailhead. Their plan was for Howell to free solo a few routes on Shortoff and have Wu photograph him. Reaching the climbing area, Ben photographed Austin on Tilted World (5.10), Dopey Duck (5.9), and Golden Rule (5.11a/b). After finishing, Wu left and Howell decided to free solo another route.

Two climbers, Riley Collins and Jay Massey, were preparing to climb Dopey Duck when they witnessed Howell fall at around 11:30 a.m. Neither can say for sure what route he was on, but most likely it was in the Tilted World, an area of very steep 5.10 and 5.11 pitches, since his pack was found a couple of days later on top of that zone. Collins stated that, moments before falling, Howell yelled “NO ”

After witnessing the fall, Massey reached the fallen climber and began CPR. At 1:18 p.m., rescue crews arrived at the top of Shortoff Mountain, and a first responder reached Howell soon afterward. He could not be revived.

ANALYSIS

Howell was known to record himself climbing, and on this day his camera filmed the entire incident. Investigators were able to view the video and observed that he had both hands on the rock when his foot slipped. He tried unsuccessfully to regain his footing on the overhanging climb and fell. Free soloing is inherently dangerous, with no room for error, even for the most talented and experienced soloists.

Massey should be praised for his response. He arrived at Howell’s side within minutes of the fall, stabilized his position so he didn’t slip further down the slope, and initiated CPR until he was asked to leave the scene by dispatch. (Sources: Facebook post by Susan Hall, personal communications with Corey Winstead and James Robinson (Burke County Rescue Squad), and Ben Wu.)