Pennsylvanian, 24, dies in Teewinot fall
Man’s death is first fatality in Grand Teton National Park this year.
By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
September 23, 2009
A hiker in Grand Teton National Park fell to his death on Teewinot Mountain on Tuesday afternoon, marking the first death in the park this year.
Teton County Coronor Bob Campbell identified the man Tuesday evening as Eliot Ramsay Kalmbach, 24, a Pennsylvania resident visiting Teton County.
While details remain sketchy, park officials think Kalmbach fell while he and his hiking partner were scrambling up the south flank of Teewinot at about 1 p.m. The deceased and his friend, whom park officials could identify Tuesday only by his first name, John, were traveling cross country together, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.
The surviving hiker was able to climb down and confirm that his partner was not breathing and had no pulse before he called 911 on his cell phone. The emergency call was transferred to the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center at 1:28 p.m.
“We had the contract helicopter in the vicinity,” said Skaggs. “We were dismantling the Lower Saddle backcountry hut. We were able to quickly divert the helicopter to try to locate the hikers.”
Climbing rangers got to the site at about 3:30 p.m. The surviving hiker was “incredibly distraught,” and not able to provide rescue workers with details of the accident, Skaggs said
Skaggs said rangers located one of the men’s cars in the Lupine Meadows parking lot. She said the pair likely started out on the Apex Trail which starts up the East Face of the 12,325-foot mountain.
The two then probably moved off to the left side of the face, according to rangers’ best estimates, Skaggs said. Rescuers recovered Kalmbach’s body from below a notch on the ridge at the south side of the face, above the landmark Delta Lake.
“The Apex Trail, it’s a pretty standard route that people use,” she said. “I’m not sure what they were intending to do. They were not intending to climb; they did not have helmets or ropes.”
“It did sound like they had gotten off route,” she. “It’s not one of the usual hiking or climbing routes.”
Out of 12 major search and rescue operations in the park this year, Tuesday’s incident marks the first fatality. Last year, five people died in the park – three in motor vehicle accidents and two in climbing mishaps.
