Climbing
A 29-year-old Utah man died after falling while mountain climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Lake Blanche, UT yesterday.
The man was able to call the police for help after falling at about 3:15 pm Wednesday, according to Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray.
“We received a call from a male who said he was up Cottonwood Canyon mountain climbing, and that he had fallen approximately 15-feet. He was saying that he thought maybe he had broken a couple of ribs, and he’d experienced some face trauma.” – Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray
The man told them he’d fallen in a very steep area above Storm Mountain, reports Deseret.
“He also explained to them that he was a big guy — about 6 feet and over 200 pounds,” Gray said. “So we called Search and Rescue to go up there and get him. They were able to call in the helicopter to hoist him out.”
Unfortunately, during the rescue as he was being hoisted out by rescuers, the man succumbed to his injuries.
Storm Mountain is a peak that lies on the western end of the Cottonwood Ridge.
Rising nearly 5,000 feet directly out of the valley, any approach requires significant elevation gain, and the blocky summit provides some interesting scrambling opportunities.
Lake Blanche is located in the center of the Twin Peaks Wilderness Area and is in a basin also containing Lake Florence and Lake Lillian.
The summits of 11,132′ Monte Cristo, 11,107′ Dromedary Peak and 11,275′ Sunrise Peck surround the lakes.
