On October 23, a 27-year-old climber with three years of experience was leading the third and last pitch of Middle Earth (5.6). After completing the crux roof, the climber fell approximately 55 feet. They impacted the wall several times until thei...
On June 3, at approximately 5 p.m., a leader (male) and follower (female), both in their late 20s or early 30s, climbed the two-pitch Easy O (5.2 trad). They intended to descend via the two-bolt rappel anchor at the top of Son of Easy O (5.8). A s...
In 2022, there were 13 reported climbing-related accidents on the Mohonk Preserve. These included eight leader accidents, three bouldering accidents, and one lowering incident. Recorded injuries included three head/facial injuries, one shoulder in...
On March 16, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) dispatch center received a report that a family member had not returned from a climbing trip to the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. Forest rangers checked the trailhead ...
At 6:30 p.m. on October 16, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rangers received a call from two climbers who were stranded on Moss Cliff in Wilmington Notch, within Adirondack State Park. Moss Cliff is a 400-plus-foo...
This incident occurred at approximately 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, at the Socorro Box Recreation Area during a rock-climbing program with a group of novices. It was the last day of a three-day trip sequence. Climber 1 (32) and Belayer (27) attempted...
On July 9, Jeff (male, 60) and his wife, Pam, were climbing Beginner’s Easy Variation (8 pitches, 5.3 R) on the slabs of Whitehorse Ledge. Another climbing party of Damon (male), his father Graham (77), and son Taylor (8) were climbing nearby on t...
On Saturday, June 25, WD (male, 28) and GT (male, 27) were climbing Moby Grape (7 pitches, 5.8 PG-13). They got off route near the top of the climb when attempting to bypass a slab section. After an unsuccessful attempt to self-rescue, the party c...
On June 7, a 19-year-old Columbia Falls man died following a climbing accident on Mt. Brown in Glacier National Park. Park officials received a call around 3:00 p.m. regarding a missing person. Two individuals planned to hike and climb Mt. Brown. ...
The east face of Dusty Star with the new route marked (red) and Jack Beard in the foreground. This picture was taken by Brian Kennedy the day before the pair’s fatal rappel accident. On July 24, two climbers were reported overdue to the Nati...
On October 28, Patrick Marx (18) fell while climbing Big Ass Flake (V2) on the secluded basalt outcroppings along Cliff Drive. He wrote ANAC, “I was 15 to 18 feet off the ground and I dropped and missed my crash pad. I had a spotter who prevented ...
On September 17, Climber 1 (female, 28) was being lowered by Climber 2 (male, 27) when she was dropped at least four or five feet to the ground. Climber 1 wrote, “We weren’t sure if our rope would be long enough, so my buddy climbed first while I...
On January 19, Tucker Rowan (24) had finished a top-rope solo of Secret Waterfall (110’, WI3) and was attempting to downclimb the loose, rock gully on the climber’s right side of the flow when he slipped. The 60 to 70-foot fall from near the top o...
On March 3, Thad Friday (48) fell while descending from the Bastille in Eldorado Canyon. He was an exceptionally experienced climber with big-wall free enchainments, big-wall aid solos in Yosemite, and first ascents in Greenland to his credit. On ...
On April 2, “Andrew” (31) and “Jordan” (28) were climbing a link-up of several difficult routes, as training for an upcoming trip to Patagonia. Andrew fell while climbing the third pitch of the day. Andrew wrote to ANAC, “I led the first pitch of...
On June 22, a female climber (58) was rappelling to the ground from a bolted anchor on a route called The Bomb (2 pitches, 5.4) when she fell an estimated 40 feet to the ground. She suffered life-threatening injuries. Bystanders called 911 immedia...
Rob Batey (48) was severely injured in an unroped 80- to 100-foot fall on the Second Flatiron, a large sandstone slab above Boulder, on November 1. He survived the fall but suffered a broken femur, five fractured vertebrae, 16 broken ribs, a broke...
On July 9, Anna Laila Leikvold (22) was preparing to climb at the Wizard’s Gate crag, south of Estes Park, when she was struck by a rock falling from above on a route called The Arrival (4 pitches, 5.11). Leikvold, who was wearing a helmet, was at...
On May 29, one climber was killed, one seriously injured, and a third person suffered minor injuries in an avalanche on Dreamweaver (III AI3- M2+), a classic couloir route in Rocky Mountain National Park. The trio were climbing as a team when a ma...
On July 10, Will Toor (60) and Mariella Colvin (59) fell down the East Couloir (II AI2 or 65° snow) on the north face of Flattop Mountain (12,324’). At the top, a cornice collapsed, causing Toor to fall. The dislodged debris struck Colvin. Unroped...