2/10/16 - Death on Moonlight Butress in Zion

[jman]

Sad deal...

Climber falls, dies in Zion National Park
https://ksl.com/?sid=38842502

ZION NATIONAL PARK — A fall from a popular technical route in Zion National Park killed a climber Wednesday, officials said.

Two other people climbing in the area saw an individual they did not know fall from Moonlight Buttress, a 1,200 foot technical route on the west side of Zion Canyon, and called park rangers at about 12:30 p.m., according to Zion National Park.

"(It's) a very sad situation," park superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said in a statement. "Our condolences go out to the individual's friends and family."

The body of the climber was found at the base of the route. The climber has not yet been identified by investigators, pending family notification. Park officials said an investigation into the cause of the fall is still ongoing.




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[Sombeech]

Dang, no climbing partners to identify the victim either? Lonely way to go.

[tanya]

This is sad. I got an email on it from the NPS yesterday. Bo_Beck has done this climb. Has anyone else?

[nelsonccc]

I've done it but that was a long time ago. I think I read somewhere that he wasn't hooked up to a rope and was soloing.

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[Glenn]

More information on the death of Eric Klimt:
http://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/news/climbermame_3_15_16.htm
Springdale, UT- The name of the climber who died Wednesday, March 9, 2016, after falling in Zion National Park has been released. Eric Michael Klimt, 36, of Portland, Oregon, was climbing a technical route in the park when he fell. The cause of the incident is still under investigation by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in cooperation with the National Park Service.

Klimt had been top rope solo climbing a popular 1,200 foot technical route in Zion Canyon called "Moonlight Buttress," on the west side of the canyon. He had a rope fixed on the upper three pitches when he fell. The cause of his fall is still under investigation. He was witnessed falling at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9 by another climbing party on the route. These climbers notified park rangers who located Klimt's body at the base of the route. He was pronounced dead at the scene. It is estimated that he fell approximately 800-1000 feet.

"Our condolences go out to Eric's friends and family" stated Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh.

http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-accidents/climber-dies-in-fall-from-moonlight-buttress-zion
On Wednesday, March 9, Eric Michael Klimt died in a fall from Moonlight Buttress (http://www.rockandice.com/video-gallery/jacob-cook-on-moonlight-buttress-5-12d-7c) (5.12d) (http://www.rockandice.com/video-gallery/jacob-cook-on-moonlight-buttress-5-12d-7c), a classic 11-pitch crack climb in Zion National Park, Utah. He was an accomplished climber and teacher.
Klimt, who had been on the route before, was alone and planning on rope-soloing the upper pitches by rappelling in from the top, according to his family. Another party of climbers saw Klimt fall at around 12:30 p.m. and alerted the Park Service.
Park Rangers recovered his body from the base of the climb, 1,200 feet below the summit. He was found wearing an intact harness with a GriGri attached to his belay loop with a carabiner. The rest of his gear was still at the top of the climb.
The cause of his fall is unknown.
His family had initially asked friends and the media to withhold his name, to give them time to contact other friends and family, until his sister Kirsten Klimt broke the news on Saturday.
In a Facebook post, she wrote: “We wanted to share this news with the world at large as there are so many people out there who know and love Eric and would want to know.
“While we are grieving the loss of a wonderful man, brother, uncle and son, what we’re focusing on as a family, was that this was an accident, and that he died instantly doing something he loved.
“Eric was at his best when he was climbing, and I know his passion inspired a lot of us.”