Double Cone (2,309 m), New Zealand - mountaineering, guided, roped, rope cut

"..The rope attached to two Australian climbers may have swung like a pendulum against sharp rock when they fell, causing it to sever and the men to plummet 300m to their deaths, a coroner says. 

James Harry Spaile, ​44, of New South Wales, and Brett Alexander Lentfer,​ 62, of Canberra, fell 300m from the Remarkables mountain range on November 6, 2019. 

They were climbing the Grand Traverse with a guide of 30 years' experience who worked for Wānaka-based Aspiring Guides at the time, a report by Coroner Marcus Elliott says. 

The Grand Traverse is a challenging route along the steep and exposed ridge line between Single and Double Cones with views to the valley 2000m below.

..the guide was anchored about 12m away when the men fell, round the corner of a wide ledge. The guide could not see them but could communicate with them. Spaile and Lentfer were at the previous anchor point on a ledge and needed to move about 12m to get to the new anchor point. The rope that was being used originated at the guide’s anchor and was routed through a runner and then tied to both men.  As they made their way towards the guide, they fell. The guide did not witness the fall.

It appeared the rope initially held the fall but then slid or swung in a pendulum motion over a sharp rock edge. The rope cut and the man fell into a gully, the investigation found. Rescuers at the time said the men fell about 300m. Spaile’s body was retrieved that day, but it was another day before Lentfer could be retrieved due to large hunks of snow coming off the tops of the mountain.  The WorkSafe reported said climbing experts expressed “complete surprise” at the rope cutting in the circumstances..."

Climbing rope may have 'swung like a pendulum', causing 300m fatal fall - coroner