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Pingora fatalities

Original Post
Jason Todd · · Cody, WY · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 1,114

Two climbers were killed on Pingora last Friday. Initial reports indicate they were rappelling from the peak when the accident occurred.

Condolences to the friends and families.

basinreboot.com/2015/08/31/…

Nick Votto · · CO, CT, IT · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 320

Condolences to family and friends.
Both fell rappelling? Maybe the entire anchor failed?

Noah Haber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 78

Not good to speculate at this point. Any number of things could cause two fatalities from a rappel, including anchor failure, rapping off the end while simulrapping, whatever. Best to wait for the official word.

Sarah Meiser · · Boulder, CO · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 5,094

Heard the chopper from Deep Lake and figured it was bad news :(. Backpackers on the hike out mentioned someone hearing "Rock!" when it happened. All hearsay tho.

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

Really sorry to hear. :-( It's such a beautiful place.

I found the rappels easily when I climbed that formation several years ago, but we had good beta on where to look and our weather was excellent. Given that rain can force a retreat anywhere, any other scenario is possible.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Is there any new information? I rapped off Pingora maybe 3 weeks ago. All the anchors were in excellent shape for the standard rappel.

I met Keith while he was guiding a group of community college students at Vedauwoo. He's a nice guy, solid fundamentals, I'd rope up with him. I believe my brother is friends with his son.

I'm really curious about what happened.

Aerili · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 1,875

I was hiking into the cirque the day they fell and saw the choppers carrying out the bodies. Was able to speak with the ranger in the area as well as two climbers who saw them on route. Details were sketchy then but I do not believe they were rapping from the summit. It was much too early in the day and reports were that they were moving very slowly and did not appear confident. I believe they were not high on the route yet. I am not sure I believe they were rapping at all because this entails leaving gear behind, but it does seem to have been catastrophic anchor failure. It is not clear if this was due to a factor 2 fall on a bad anchor, a fall by the second on a bad anchor/bad rock, or just ill-fated rockfall. Btw, the weather was excellent the whole day so it was not in the equation.

My partner and I went to climb the route 3 days later (after 1 other route and a forced rest day due to a storm). We only got 3 pitches up before having to bail in a rescue effort with the party ahead of us - one of the climbers took a massive lead fall and sustained injuries, although we were all able to get back to camp under our own power. Anyhow, what little of the route I did climb, I did not notice any blood, impact sites, or other disturbances, even though I believe they may have fallen nearby that area.

DavisMeschke Guillotine · · Pinedale, WY · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 225

From what I've heard from friends on SAR is that bystanders saw them rappelling the face, which is odd because the rap stations are on the backside, not the face. No one knows for sure and we may never know. A reminder that the medium on which we climb is active and ever changing. Here's to hoping the family and loved ones of the deceased are able to find some kind of peace in their time of pain. Cheers

Aerili · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 1,875

If they were rappelling the face then it would seem they chose to bail on their own anchors. Again, they were apparently moving very slowly.

Regardless, a tragic introduction to the area for me and my partner.

rob.calm · · Loveland, CO · Joined May 2002 · Points: 630
Aerili wrote:I My partner and I went to climb the route 3 days later
Which route was it?

rob.calm
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35
rob.calm wrote: Which route was it? rob.calm
Rob, I believe when people refer to "the" route on Pingora, it would almost certainly be the Northeast face.

That also correlates with the reports that mention where they bailed from.

Is an official report going to come out on this?
Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

Most of the long routes are on the main face, which is then descended by rapping from the summit down to the left hump, where you can then downclimb to the base.

Aerili · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 1,875
rob.calm wrote: Which route was it? rob.calm
Yes, NE Face. Like the Tetons, I felt the routes in the Winds are fairly stout and can be somewhat insecure at times even when "easy". But my experience is limited to a couple routes in each location.
Tom Pamperin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2015 · Points: 0

All my sympathy to the friends and family of the two climbers who didn't make it--horrible to hear about an adventure turn into a tragedy like that. We all know bad things can happen up there, to anyone (we had to retreat from the same route a few days later after a big fall), so be safe.

Aerili wrote:My partner and I went to climb the route 3 days later (after 1 other route and a forced rest day due to a storm). We only got 3 pitches up before having to bail in a rescue effort with the party ahead of us - one of the climbers took a massive lead fall and sustained injuries, although we were all able to get back to camp under our own power. Anyhow, what little of the route I did climb, I did not notice any blood, impact sites, or other disturbances, even though I believe they may have fallen nearby that area.
Many thanks (again!) for the help getting me (belayer) and my partner (leader) down after that fall--and sorry to make you miss your ascent. Really cool to have people just jump in to help without even stopping to think about it. We managed to hike out on our own the next day to Big Sandy. It was a HUGE help to have you there to help assess the injuries, manage raps (including the tandem rap), and share ropes--we'd have had to leave a lot more gear behind otherwise at the very least, since we'd only brought a single rope. Thank you!

I wonder if perhaps the climbers who fell got off-route and were trying to rap to get back on? After looking at the topo again, my partner thinks he may have headed off to the right of the route at the top of P3, where the route is supposed to step left, and if they fell from somewhere close by, they may have done the same thing?

Tom
Tom Pamperin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2015 · Points: 0
DavisMeschke wrote:I don't believe the routes are more stout, only more committing than other alpine climbing arenas.
I agree with your take on what makes the Winds special (extra commitment, self-reliance, etc), but I also agree with Aerili that the ratings will seem stout or old school-ish to a lot of people. I led the first two pitches (marked 5.7) and took a couple of short falls on P2, which isn't typical for me on 5.7 or 5.8. I'd say it's smart for climbers to be prepared for about a grade higher (i.e. 5.7 potentially feels like 5.8) on these kind of committing routes. The NE Face is certainly not a route for a newer 5.8 leader.

Tom
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Guys, this is far from the place to discuss your opinions on the grades in the Winds.

Aerili · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 1,875
Tom Pamperin wrote:We managed to hike out on our own the next day to Big Sandy.
Mad props getting out on your own. I am sure it was not easy or fun.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Guys, this is far from the place to discuss your opinions on the grades in the Winds.
The intent of my comment was not off-topic frivolity. Sorry you could not see that.
Tom Pamperin · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2015 · Points: 0
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Guys, this is far from the place to discuss your opinions on the grades in the Winds.
Sorry if I gave any offense--no disrespect intended to the fallen climbers, nor any side-track from the topic. My hope was that discussion of the route's rating might be useful in understanding what happened to cause this tragedy, and perhaps help others avoid their own problems with the route in the future.

Tom
Cameron Sumpter · · Lander, WY · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 65

Fremont County sheriffs office will be posting the report of their findings in a few days; just wait for that.

Reuben Cousin · · Salt Lake City · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 15

I climbed the NE face on Saturday morning, the day after the incident. I didn't see any evidence of the incident besides a stuck .75 that I couldn't get out, and it looked very new and in great condition.

phaticeclimb · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 20
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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