Climbers Die in Grand Tetons

Two women were killed in a fall while trying to climb the Teewinot Mountain in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, officials said.

The Associated Press reported that 27-year-old Raleigh native Tyler Strandberg and 28-year-old New York native Catherine Nix died after the incident at Grand Teton National Park.

Rangers found Strandberg and Nix on a rock ledge at 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) up the mountain.

A third female climber was rescued by rangers from a nearby ledge. Two rangers climbed for almost an hour, over severely steep terrain, to reach Anderson.

Rangers arrived by helicopter and assessed the conditions of Strandberg and Nix; both were unresponsive after their fall of 200 feet. They were pronounced dead on the scene by the rangers in consultation with park medical director Dr. Will Smith.

Anderson was evacuated by helicopter and, separately, Strandberg and Nix’s bodies were flown to the Teton County coroner.

The NPS said in the release that the East Face of the mountain is the easiest route, but even then, mountaineering experience and skill are “essential”. It is rated a class 4.0 climb, meaning that it consists of exposed rock climbing but is not considered technical in nature.

The three women were trying to climb the East Face of the mountain and were well off the preferred route when the two fell, officials said.

Sunday’s climbing party had veered from the route up the hill they had initially sought and, as a result, were challenged by more hard and technical terrain when the fall occurred, according to the park.

The Park Service says they weren’t utilizing ropes on the time.