Ontario Climber Dies in Toproping Accident
Stephen Thomas deLaat died tragically in a climbing accident near Toronto, Ontario, last month.
On May 19, deLaat and his long-time climbing partner Adam Wong headed to Mount Nemo, a popular limestone crag along the Niagara Escarpment. The pair climbed a moderately popular sport route at the Castle Area. Wong led the climb to the Big Game Ledge, where he anchored safely and began to belay deLaat, who seconded the route on toprope. According to eye-witness accounts, during deLaat’s ascent, a large rock flake detached from the wall as he climbed. The flake severed deLaat’s rope, and he fell between 30 and 40 feet to the ground. He sustained severe head trauma and injuries to one arm.
Several other climbers in the area arrived within minutes to assist and immediately began first response and contacted emergency services. deLaat stopped breathing a few minutes later, and the climbers performed CPR until emergency services took over operations roughly 40 minutes later. Wong remained attached to the anchors on Big Game Ledge until he was helped to the ground by rappelling firefighters.
deLaat was known for being a responsible and conscientious climber, and eye-witness accounts confirm that both deLaat and Wong were wearing helmets and following safe climbing practices. The rockfall occurred on a trafficked route that had already been climbed at least once that day by Wong. This, plus the fact that deLaat’s rope was cut while seconding, meaning the rockfall must have occurred at least partially above the rope, suggests that this was an unlikely and thus unexpected accident.
Trevor Davis, owner of Toprock Climbing Gym in Brampton, Ontario, who assisted with first response and CPR, believes deLaat and Wong were experienced climbers who were doing everything right. “We try to make everything safe, but there can always be bad luck, and it really seems like that’s what it came down to,” he said.
Born one of three triplets to parents Robert and Patricia, Stephen deLaat was the leader of the “mischievous“ trio of himself and his sisters Samantha and Rachel. According to family members, deLaat and his siblings supported each other their entire lives, and he maintained a tight relationship with his father through their shared adventures and passion for intellectual conversation, and with his mother, whom he often visited in nearby Waterloo. deLaat also leaves behind his wife, Ketki Nina deLaat, whom he met in 2017 and married in 2022, and throughout their partnership prioritized adventurous travel together.
deLaat was curious and an intellectual from a young age and became one of the first graduates of the University of Waterloo’s Nanotechnology Engineering program. He had recently begun working in developing a groundbreaking battery technology. deLaat was passionate about many sports beyond climbing, including cycling and scuba diving. As a climber, he was known for his guidance and mentorship and was affectionately called “Climber Dad” by members of the community. He was incredibly social at the crag. Friends remarked that an approach would take three times longer with deLaat, since he’d stop to chat with every person he passed. He was a conscientious and supportive climber, who never missed an opportunity to cheer on his climbing partner, whether they were in the gym, redpointing a hard project, or trying outdoor climbing for the first time.
“He was friendly to everybody and would chat with anybody,” said friend and climbing partner Heidi Wong who, like her husband Adam, had been climbing with deLaat since 2015. “The best part of climbing with him was his positivity and encouragement.”
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