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A US mountain climber regarded as one of the world's most accomplished free solo climbers has died in a fall while rappelling in Mexico.
Key points:
- Brad Gobright was simul-rappelling with a partner at the ElPotrero Chico peak when they began to fall
- Officials say Gobright fell 300m in the accident
- Rappelling is a common cause of climbing fatalities
Officials in northern Mexico confirmed California mountain climber Brad Gobright died in a fall on Wednesday.
The fall occurred at an almost sheer rock face known as Sendero Luminoso, which translates as "Shining Path", on the El Potrero Chico peak near the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico.
The Nuevo Leon state civil defence office said that Mr Gobright fell about 300 metres.
The publication Rock and Ice described the 31-year-old as "one of the most accomplished free solo climbers in the world".
Free solo climbing involves climbing without safety gear. But Mr Gobright was reportedly using ropes at the time of the accident.
According to the website Outside, Mr Gobright was simul-rappelling with 26-year-old Aidan Jacobson after posting an Instagram request for a last-minute climbing partner.
Climbing partner survives
Simul-rapping is where two climbers use opposite strands of a rope to descend — a technique which the website says demands close co-ordination as the climbers' bodies act as counterweights to one another.
Outside reported that rappelling was the most common cause of climbing fatalities.
Mr Jacobson told the website they were talking to each other about their descent before they simultaneously fell.
"I asked if we were good, and he said, 'Yes, we can untangle the rope on the way down,'" Mr Jacobson told Outside.
"We didn't tie knots in the rope, either.
We started rapping. I was a bit above him. I was on the left. He was on the right.
"Then all of a sudden, I felt a pop, and we started dropping."
Mr Jacobson crashed through a bush which slowed his fall before he hit a ledge. He sustained only an injury to his ankle.
"It was basically a blur," he told Outside.
"He screamed. I screamed. I went through some vegetation, and then all I remember is seeing his blue Gramicci shirt bounce over the edge…"
Alex Honnold — the subject of 2018 rock climbing documentary Free Solo — paid his respects to Mr Gobright on Instagram, calling him "a warm, kind soul" and one of a handful of rock climbing partners he loved spending time with.
"I suppose there's something to be said about being safe out there and the inherent risks in climbing but I don't really care about that right now," his post reads.
"I'm just sad for Brad and his family."
with AP
Topics: extreme-sports, human-interest, sport, mexico, united-states
First posted