Climber falls to his death on North Shore mountain peak

An attempt to climb the well-known “Widowmaker” route on Crown Mountain, a prominent North Shore peak, has ended with the death of climber.

Wednesday afternoon, North Shore Rescue received calls from the RCMP and Grouse Mountain about a scream that was heard from the area of the Hanes Valley, north of Grouse.

North Shore Rescue’s Mike Danks said initially there was concern people had been injured in a rock slide, but after a reconnaissance flight, it was determined there were two climbers in distress on the east side of Crown, which rises on the northwestern side of the valley.

One man was on a ledge about 200 feet above the base of the climb. Using a Talon helicopter and a long line apparatus, rescuers were able to retrieve the man from the ledge.

“He said they were climbing the Widowmaker but were off-route,” Danks said. According to the rescued man, his partner was about 40 or 50 feet above him and had placed four pieces of “protection” — devices used to prevent a fall when climbing with ropes — but he slipped and all four were pulled off the rock face.

The other man fell more than 200 feet, despite the efforts of his companion to pull back on the rope. He suffered third-degree burns on his hands, Danks said.

A separate rescue crew from NSR was able to reach the dead man. His body was carried out and is now in the care of the B.C. Coroners’ Service.