AZ. climber stung to death

[oldno7]

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona climber has been found dead, dangling from a rope on a cliff face south of Tucson, after apparently being stung to death by bees, police said on Wednesday.
Steven Wallace Johnson, 55, a counselor with some 30 years experience hiking and climbing, headed into the mountains south of Tucson on Friday, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.
Johnson was reported missing on Monday by co-workers after he failed to show up for work. A Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team found his body that afternoon, Estrada said. "He had been stung repeatedly and he was dangling there," he said.
"He was climbing the cliff and was about 70 feet up and still had about 80 feet to go, so he really didn't have anywhere to go when he was attacked by this swarm of bees," Estrada said.
He said Johnson's dog had also been attacked by bees and was found dead nearby.
The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office was conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of Johnson's death.
(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Scott Malone, Toni Reinhold)

[canyoncaver]

Those Arizona bees are no joke. Be careful out there! Maybe bring someone else along to belay besides your dog...

[Scott Card]

This is one of the most bizarre, terrifying thing one could imagine, that is if you hate bees like my wife does. condolences to friends and family.

[Deathcricket]

The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office was conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of Johnson's death.

Uhhhh... Imma take a wild guess and say getting stung by bees?

[Bo_Beck]

Brings back memories of a trip we took on the shortcut to Imlay. Took the left drainage and on a 10' upclimb in the wash, midway up the rock an angry "herd" of yellowjackets decided that they'd make a nest between my shoulders and backpack! Damn that hurt!

[tanya]

Ouch. :(

[achaco]

I personally even don't dare to try it. I'm not a newbie but this is definitely a serious challenge.