Loss of Seattle's Lara Kellogg felt in climbing circles worldwide.
April 30th, 2007
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Well-known climber Lara Kellogg suffered a rappelling accident on Alaska's Mt. Wake last week, falling to her death. The Seattle-based mountaineer, scientist and climbing guide was 38 years old.
Her husband, climber Chad Kellogg, was climbing in China's Sichuan province at the time of the accident. Lara Kellogg's name was not released by authorities until her husband could be found and notified. The pair comprised one of the world's most famous mountaineering couples, and news of Lara's fall has jolted the worldwide climbing community.
Lara Kellogg was a familiar face on many continents, having climbed extensively in the Himalayas, China, South America, Yosemite, Alaska and elsewhere. Mt. Rainier was practically her backyard -- she summited the peak 37 times, often guiding expeditions to the top. She also volunteered for search-and-rescue missions in the area.
Chad Kellogg holds the speed climbing record for Mt. Rainier, and the couple made many climbs together, before and after their marriage in 2000. They lived in West Seattle.
Lara Kellogg was accompanied on Mt. Wake, in Denali National Park, by mountaineer Jed Brown. He has posted a detailed account of Kellogg's last climb. According to Brown, he and Kellogg decided to turn back due to poor climbing conditions. They began descending around 3:30 p.m., with Kellogg rappelling in search of a good spot to belay Brown.
Brown wrote:
"I recall pointing out that the single strand of 8.5 mm was slippery in her Reverso. We did not put a knot in the end of the rope. She rapped to the traverse, then out of sight. A couple minutes went by, then I heard a scream, the sound of falling, then a thud. As reality sank in, I tried to calm my nerves. Since she had the whole rack, so I couldn't rap if I wanted.
I packed up the rope and began downclimbing. It was 18:30. I came to a Yellow C4 before the traverse, then a Red C3 below it, then a 10 cm screw. Near what must have been the end of the rope, there was a marginal nut. I downclimbed to the top of the step, then made one 30 meter rappel off the ice screw to reach the snow gully. There was an impact mark near a tongue of rock at the bottom of the step.
I estimate that she fell 30 meters down 60-70 degree ice, then 35 meters of free-fall over the cliff, then about 300 meters of tumbling down the gully. As I downclimbed, I collected tools, screws, and other gear. Her body came to rest near the bottom of the snow cone. I reached it at 19:20."
Brown believes that a knot in the end of the rope would have stopped Kellogg from falling. He wrote:
"As I try to piece together the accident, I suspect that she was concentrating on finding gear to belay from and didn't realize how close to the end of the rope she was. Fatigue may have been a contributing factor. I don't know if the slippery rappel system played a part. I do not think she was hit by a rock. I am confident that a knot in the end of the rope would have made the difference. This has certainly caused me to rethink the value judgment that the added security is not worth the hassle of stuck ropes and extra time to tie and untie knots."
A website has been set up in memory of Lara Kellogg, so that her many friends and colleagues can pay their respects.
