Climber Death Taylor’s Falls MN

https://kstp.com/minnesota-news/1-killed-1-injured-in-apparent-rock-climbing-accident-in-taylors-falls-/6053953/

If anybody involved wants me to delete this thread I will do so but I know the community would like to pay respects and know what happened at some point. Rest In Peace and quick recovery to the partner.

I was already heading out there tomorrow to the other side of the river to boulder, I’ll be looking for rock scars. 

So unfortunate. Be safe out there y'all 

RIP. Sad news.

Sad this kind of stuff keeps happening at Taylor’s. Wonder if they were experienced climbers or people visiting the park who got overexcited. I remember a few incidents happening at Taylor’s a while back with some hikers. 

Hikers. How were two climbers injured simultaneously at a single pitch crag?

Climber 4QualityCommunitywrote:

Hikers. How were two climbers injured simultaneously at a single pitch crag?

Taylors consists of a lot of big granite blocks, a lot of which are loose. If someone took a fall on pro or set up an anchor on a bad rock and I could definitely see there being a possibility of injury, both for the climber and people on the ground. 

Chronically Injuredwrote:

Taylors consists of a lot of big granite blocks, a lot of which are loose. If someone took a fall on pro or set up an anchor on a bad rock and I could definitely see there being a possibility of injury, both for the climber and people on the ground. 

Springtime at Taylor's is especially dangerous with the freeze/thaw cycle loosening things up (pretty sure that's how White Knight/Black Knight collapsed). I've had more close calls there than at any other Midwestern crag. 

Condolences to the loved ones and friends of the deceased, and I'm hoping the injured party pulls through.

Looks like Sheriff’s office confirms rockfall. Not sure how accurate the location is, but it might point to that area that was recently cleared of a rockfall, but likely wasn’t cleared of loose rock.  It’s all speculation at this point I guess. My condolences to all involved parties  

Hi all. The climber who passed was a childhood friend of mine. He was kind, curious, smart and passionate about anything & everything in his life. He energy and spirit will be impossible to replace. I spoke to him just a few days ago and climbed with him about 2 weeks ago. He was really excited to go out with his co-worker, who is an experienced climber & the man who was airlifted, to learn about anchor building. I still don't know much about what happened. I'm heartbroken and in shock. If anyone knows more, please get in touch with me.

Kevin Owrote:

Hi all. The climber who passed was a childhood friend of mine. He was kind, curious, smart and passionate about anything & everything in his life. He energy and spirit will be impossible to replace. I spoke to him just a few days ago and climbed with him about 2 weeks ago. He was really excited to go out with his co-worker, who is an experienced climber & the man who was airlifted, to learn about anchor building. I still don't know much about what happened. I'm heartbroken and in shock. If anyone knows more, please get in touch with me.

I’m so sorry to hear that Kevin. I was out today but didn’t find out any more. Walked out to the strip and back but didn’t see evidence of much. Heard a rumor about it happening on tourist rocks but didn’t confirm.

When I was leaving today I saw sheriff, fire with a boat, and ambulances screeching with lights on into the MN parking lot for the second day in a row. Told my friend who tuned in to the scanner and they said something about a missing kid but I haven’t been able to confirm anything with that either. Bad week for the park... 

Bryanwrote:

I’m so sorry to hear that Kevin. I was out today but didn’t find out any more. Walked out to the strip and back but didn’t see evidence of much. Heard a rumor about it happening on tourist rocks but didn’t confirm.

When I was leaving today I saw sheriff, fire with a boat, and ambulances screeching with lights on into the MN parking lot for the second day in a row. Told my friend who tuned in to the scanner and they said something about a missing kid but I haven’t been able to confirm anything with that either. Bad week for the park... 

Thanks for your kind words and further investigation.

Hey Kevin (or anyone who needs it), if you're interested the American Alpine Club runs the Climbing Grief Fund. They do therapy grants, maintain a directory of therapists with climbing backgrounds, and have a library of videos and stories from people who have gone through similar ordeals. It's still growing, but it helped me immensely when I lost one of my close friends and climbing partners. You're not alone.

https://americanalpineclub.org/grieffund

Bryanwrote:

I’m so sorry to hear that Kevin. I was out today but didn’t find out any more. Walked out to the strip and back but didn’t see evidence of much. Heard a rumor about it happening on tourist rocks but didn’t confirm.

When I was leaving today I saw sheriff, fire with a boat, and ambulances screeching with lights on into the MN parking lot for the second day in a row. Told my friend who tuned in to the scanner and they said something about a missing kid but I haven’t been able to confirm anything with that either. Bad week for the park... 

i was climbing on the Minnesota Strip when this accident happened, and had to walk past the area when leaving. I can confirm this happened at tourist rocks, where I saw the climbers just prior, and emergency crews immediately after the incident cleaning up. I did not happen to see any signs of rockfall at the time, but I was hurrying out and may have missed something. My sincere condolences to everyone involved, and I want to reach out and offer assistance in anyway I can to help after this terrible accident. I am considering heading up to Taylor’s falls in the next day or two to see around the area, I’m fairly familiar with tourist rocks and have climbed there recently, and would like to help any way possible. 

Does anybody have a clue as to what happened, other than two people were involved? I've climbed there for 25 years, and never heard of an anchor failure at tourist rock, so I suspect some form of rock fall. A giant piece of rock fractured off a couple years ago down river a bit and closed down the trail. 

Does anyone know what route at tourist  rock? I was on the sunny and juanita route a while ago and noticed there is deceptive parallel crack that fits several cams. The rock block that makes up the crack moved significantly when a cam was pulled hard. Something to keep in mind for this route. 

John, I think I know exactly which block you are talking about at the top of S&J, it almost seems like a perfect cam placement until you realize you can wiggle the whole block back and forth.  I've caught several different people about to use it as part of their anchor, almost used it myself the first time I set up that route.

Reading on facebook, it sounds like it might not have actually been a rockfall, but could potentially have been an anchor failure which caused both climbers to fall.  It would be very easy for a report to mix up "rock fall" with "fall from rock".  Maybe they led it and the second climber was following up when they fell?

CrazyCranium wrote:

John, I think I know exactly which block you are talking about at the top of S&J, it almost seems like a perfect cam placement until you realize you can wiggle the whole block back and forth.  I've caught several different people about to use it as part of their anchor, almost used it myself the first time I set up that route.

Reading on facebook, it sounds like it might not have actually been a rockfall, but could potentially have been an anchor failure which caused both climbers to fall.  It would be very easy for a report to mix up "rock fall" with "fall from rock".  Maybe they led it and the second climber was following up when they fell?

I also know exactly which crack you are describing...BITD there was a paint mark on it.  No hiker is going to see it so maybe it is time to bring it back it.  I've always used the perfect stopper crack on climbers left and the tree on the right for the anchor.

Just posted on Escape climbing IG. 

The deceased was a member of their crew.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNA0GNRDuEl/?igshid=tww9et8f1vwj

Condolences to all the friends and family. 

Just a few clarification notes for Taylor’s Falls: Taylor’s is choss basalt, not granite.   I’ve been climbing there for over 30 years and in the past few years have been looking more critically at the lead pro.  Lotsa Stuff that I considered bomber 20 years ago or never thought twice about, now looks pretty sketch to me. Since I’ve managed to get things pretty wired over the decades, I’m not that worried, but I’d warn newer leaders that there are ALOT of shifty blocks and most cracks are less “solid” than they may appear at first blush.   Evaluate ALL your placements very critically  

Also, as stated before, spring is a very sketchy time at Taylor’s.  Climb especially conservatively and look for changes, stuff shifting and loosening.  
the collapse of White Knight was after a huge rain storm (fall if I remember correctly). My partner and I were last ones I believe. We were on it late afternoon before the storm and it was down the next day. Creepy.  Just like spring, be extra careful and alert after a big rain

Hopefully Tragedies like this one can remain very rare...even if that’s way too often. 

Mark Pilatewrote:

  Lotsa Stuff that I considered bomber 20 years ago or never thought twice about, now looks pretty sketch to me. Since I’ve managed to get things pretty wired over the decades, I’m not that worried, but I’d warn newer leaders that there are ALOT of shifty blocks and most cracks are less “solid” than they may appear at first blush.   

The bulk of my early trad experience was spent leading easy stuff at Taylor's Falls in Spring. That was years ago and I don't remember much, but very interesting to hear this - wonder how I'd feel about a lot of my placements now if I were able to go back and look at them... Do you have any specific examples in mind from popular routes?

RIP to the deceased

Paul, thanks for the post. I recently ordered some indoor climbing holds from a company and now realize it is the same company he worked for. 

Here is some more info about him, and even more confusion about what happened. I was about that age when I started climbing and so excited to see the world.    

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/03/30/friends-mourn-experienced-rock-climber-who-died-at-taylors-falls/?fbclid=IwAR398AMRCTVVQcAL5N4ZogWr5KQiGjhN23lRVogcr33036ACBWMtEsz1hDQ