Fatal Alpine Accidents

Catlin Hannah, 27, was found dead on Aug. 13 after he fell off Mount Smuts. On Aug. 11, Harold (Happy) Alfano and his friend Catlin Hannah pored over maps and made plans for Hannah's scrambling route the next day, when he would finally conquer Mount Smuts — one of the more challenging scrambling routes in Kananaskis. That was the last time Alfano ever spoke to his climbing partner. Alfano was supposed to join Hannah on Sunday, but instead he was outside of the province, in B.C., so Hannah went out alone.  "He never checked in on Sunday night when he was supposed to return," Alfano said. On Monday, Kananaskis Emergency Services sent out a search team. They found the 27-year-old male dead at the base of a 300-metre-high cliff, surrounded by his gear. Alfano said he was told by first responders it appeared as if his friend had stepped on some loose rocks and that's how he fell. "He's one of the guys who knew the risks and studied and trained daily for it. It...

A 42-year-old man from Edmonton died this weekend after he slipped while climbing a mountain in Banff National Park Canada Global news reported. Calgary Herald said that a hiker who died after falling more than 1,000 meters from Mount Temple near Lake Louise has been identified as Edmonton man Matt Miller. According to RCMP, The man was out with a group of experienced hikers on Saturday when he lost his footing while climbing the mountain and slipped on a patch of snow and ice. Emergency services were notified that a man who had been with a group of experienced hikers had lost his footing and slipped on a patch of snow and ice while climbing. Emergency services, including Lake Louise RCMP, Lake Louise Fire Rescue, and Parks Canada, responded shortly before noon. With the aid of a Parks Canada helicopter, the man was found roughly a thousand meters (3,300 feet) from the initial site of the fall. The summit of Mount Temple is 3,543 meters (11,621 feet). Parks Canada describes Mount Templ...

A climber collapsed at 19,700-feet on Denali during a summit attempt the evening of Friday, June 3. His mountain guides immediately initiated cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at approximately 5:45 pm, but the climber, 48-year-old Fernando Birman, never regained a pulse. Birman, who comes from Stockton, New Jersey, was pronounced deceased on the scene. The cause of death is unknown, but consistent with sudden cardiac arrest. Birman’s guides assisted in the body recovery, which was made from the 19,500-foot plateau known as the Football Field using a short-haul basket. Birman’s body was transferred to the State of Alaska medical examiner late Friday night.  Climber Dies Near Summit of Denali

"..Indian Creek Trail to the Eye of the Needle, a rock formation in the Ponca Wilderness, while popular and well-documented, isn’t an official trail, features drops of up to 50 feet, and can be extremely rugged, in one spot ascending a cliff with the aid of a fixed rope. I.  Brad Lee Thomas, decided to turn back because the section of trail ahead seemed too difficult. Thomas fell 20 feet from the informal path, landing in a shallow pool of water. The National Park Service said in a press release that emergency crews had attempted lifesaving efforts, but they were ultimately unsuccessful, and Thomas died..." Unlicensed Guide Convicted Over Hiker’s Death on Buffalo National River

  On December 30th, 2021, three experienced canyoneers entered the Sierra Canyon in the Superstition Wilderness of Arizona. They attempted to avoid a pool by setting an anchor in a rock arch but the arch broke when the last member, Brandon Levander, passed over it causing him to fall head first 25 ft to the canyon floor. He sustained a skull fracture and died from his injuries despite undergoing brain surgery. Sierra Canyon

  An experienced rock climber had not placed any protection on a climb before he fell 10 metres to his death on Christchurch’s Port Hills, a coroner has found. Paul Corridon​, 71, had climbed for about 25 years and was a volunteer mentor at the New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC), climbing two or three times a week. Corridon was climbing Face Variation, a 16-metre “trad” route on Rapaki Rock on the morning of November 10, 2019. A trad route is one in which climbers carry their own protective gear and place equipment into cracks in the rock before clipping a rope in to protect against a fall. In findings recently released by the coroner, climbing companion Sam Leary​ said the plan was that Corridon would climb first and place anchors before belaying from the top. Leary estimated that at one point Corridon was at least 5.5 metres off the ground and had not placed any anchors. Leary said he alerted Corridon to his lack of protection, and he appeared to be looking for a crack in the rock fa...

"..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 rop...