http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... d86b2.html

May he rest in peace.

Sad. I wish peace for his family.

A better write-up:
http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/bl ... mbing-fall

Crazy. You never know what could happen. Even bomber placements could fail if the rock fractures or displaces slightly. I wonder how many pieces he had below him.....being it was a moderate pitch, he may have made a decision I've made many times and just foregone some pieces. As I've gotten older, and have 3 kids, I no longer make decisions like that. I'm not judging him, just wondering about the specifics. Horrible when things like this happen. My buddy's uncle, vet of many Himalayan climbs, died when he tied into a double rope rappel as if it were a single rope....crazy things happen to the best of us.

Yeah, I'm sort of thinking he didn't have any gear beneath him but the details are unclear. I hope it gets a good write-up in Accidents. Like you, I'm not going to judge his decisions, I just like to know what happened -- did he run it out or did his gear rip?

Loose rock is the most terrifying thing in the world to me. We bailed off an alpine route just the other day because we found the rock to be too loose.