Rock climber from Seatac dies in fall near Leavenworth

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. – A 50-year-old Seatac woman fell and died Saturday while rock climbing in Icicle Canyon a few miles northwest of Leavenworth.

The climber, who has not yet been identified, fell about 80 feet while negotiating a route known as “Bob’s Crack,” just above the Icicle Buttress cliff face along Icicle Road. The popular climbing spot is about 6.5 miles up Icicle Road from its intersection with Highway 2.

Chelan County sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Reinfeld, leader of the sheriff’s department’s High Angle Rescue Team, said the fall was reported at 2:52 p.m. The climber was part of a group of up to six people attempting the route during overcast conditions.

Members of the Chelan County Mountain Rescue team were training in the area at the time and were able to respond to the fall, Reinfeld said. The climber had come to rest on a high shelf above the roadway. When rescuers and paramedics reached her by trail, she was not breathing. They attempted resuscitation but could not revive her.

The terrain was too steep to carry the climber’s body down on a litter via the trail, Reinfeld said, so rescuers brought her down by rope. The recovery operation took about five hours from the time of the first call, in part because of steadily increasing rain.

“Once it goes from a rescue to a recovery, it really slows down and rescuer safety becomes a real concern,” Reinfeld said.

About 17 people with the High Angle Rescue Team, Chelan County Mountain Rescue, and Chelan County Search and Rescue were involved in the effort.

The cause of the fall is still unknown, Reinfeld said. The climber’s identity was being withheld until her family could be notified.