Climber Who Fell To His Death At Smith Rock State Park From Hillsboro
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A 35-year-old Hillsboro man has been identified as the climber who died at Smith Rock State Park over the weekend.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Chaitanya Sathe was heading down an unofficial rock climbing trail toward the Lower Gorge in the Terrebonne-area state park when he apparently slipped and fell 100 feet (30 meters).
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office says the fall was reported around 9:40 a.m. Saturday and Sathe was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mazamas, a Portland-based nonprofit mountaineering group Sathe was part of, said the man was descending with a friend and that it’s unclear what caused him to fall.
Mazamas executive directors Sarah Bradham and Mitsu Iwasaki said in an email to members that Sathe assisted and participated in several climbs with group members.
The directors said conversations with Sathe’s peers showed “Chaitanya was loved by many and well-respected as a climber.”
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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com