Man Killed in Climbing Accident Near Bridal Veil Falls, UT | 9-Year-Old With Him Uninjured

A 40 year old Roosevelt man died after he apparently fell while climbing near Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon on Saturday. A nine year old boy who was with him was not injured and came down from the mountain on his own.

On July 17, shortly after 7:00 PM, Deputies with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO) were dispatched to a report of a man and a nine year old boy missing near Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon, UT.  The man, Adrian Vanderklis, 40, of Roosevelt, was climbing with his fiance’s 9 year old son above Bridal Veil Falls. The woman reported that she could see her son, who was crying, but that she could not see her fiance, and that she hadn’t seen him for “several hours”.

UCSO Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers and a helicopter crew with the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) responded to the area and team members found Mr. Vanderklis about 7:45 pm on a very steep, near vertical, slope about 1/3 of a mile west of Bridal Veil Falls at an elevation of about 5,800-feet.  A team of SAR volunteers made their way to the victim and determined he apparently fell and did not survive his injuries.

Darkness set in, making a recovery of Mr. Vanderklis’s body extremely dangerous. The operation was called off late Saturday night due to darkness and resumed Sunday morning at 7:00 am.  SAR volunteers were shuttled to the location of Mr. Vanderklis’s body.  After securing him and preparing him to be hoisted off the cliff, the DPS helicopter crew returned and brought Mr. Vanderklis off the mountain. His body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy.

While it is unclear exactly why Mr. Vanderklis fell, it is possible he stumbled, or slipped on loose material. Regardless, it appeared he was killed immediately as a result of the fall.  While the boy was with him, he did not actually see Mr. Vanderklis fall.

Bridal Veil Falls is a 607-foot-tall (185 m) double cataract waterfall in the south end of Provo Canyon, close to US189 in Utah, United States. Battle Creek Falls is on the same mountain side, approximately 10 miles north of Bridal Veil Falls.