WASHINGTON — Three people have died, and one person survived after a rock-climbing accident in Washington on Sunday.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Four climbers fell while descending from a steep gully, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
Our sister station, KIRO TV in Seattle, said it happened in the area of North Early Winters Spire.
It is a rock formation 16 miles west of Mazama, Washington, and popular with rock climbers.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Police looking for man, woman accused of paying $1K less for items after altering barcodes
- Officers, medics respond to reported shooting in Dayton neighborhood
- DoorDash driver robbed at gunpoint while making delivery in Ohio neighborhood, police say
Three people died at the scene, and another person got themselves to safety to get help.
The sheriff’s office said that the presumed cause of the accident is an anchor failure while rappelling.
KIRO TV says that rappelling is a rock-climbing technique used to descend a vertical surface, like a wall or cliff, by sliding down a rope. It’s a controlled descent where the rope is anchored at the top of the mountain.
The Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue team pulled the three bodies from mountainous terrain, the sheriff’s office said.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
