Climber Dies in Rappelling Accident on Goat Wall

On September 17th, a 25-year-old male climber from Alabama, whose name has not yet been released, was killed after sustaining a 130-foot fall while descending with his partners from Goat Wall, in Mazama, Washington. Climbing spoke with the Search and Rescue commander, who advised that the accident was due to equipment failure and occurred while the climber was rappelling. He added that the group had been on The Method Inspiration Route, a popular five-pitch 5.9. According to Mountain Project, the line was rebolted just last fall.

In 2017, another rappelling accident occurred on Goat Wall. Shelby Withington, a 20-year-old Western Washington University student from Seattle, was simul-rappelling with a friend from the seventh pitch of Sisyphus (5.11a). They were not in synch, and when the friend touched down first, Withington fell to a ledge near the base of the route and died on impact. Another rappelling accident occurred in 2016 when 26-year-old Ryan Kautz fell roughly 100 feet due to knot failure between his two lines. 

One Mountain Project user said it best: “Rapping Goat Wall can be really mind-numbing and tiring, always good to remember to be safe and treat every rappel with the respect it deserves.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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