The Exum Mountain Guide who died Saturday may have fallen after he unclipped from an anchor in an effort to reach a rappel device that had snagged, Grand Teton National Park officials said.
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He had been working for Exum Mountain Guides for 12 years, according to a statement. This technique is often used for body recovery in the Teton Range.
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in the national park, with an elevation of 13,776. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.
Halverson was returning from the National Republican Convention in Cleveland when she received news of the death of her son, Gary Falk, a 42-year-old a mountain guide for Exum in Jackson. Falk’s body was recovered via helicopter, the newspaper reports.
“Gary was a diligent guide, always the consummate professional”, Patridge said. Falk fell approximately 2,400 feet. He said that he and everyone at Exum were “grieving” and “struggling to comprehend the situation”.
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Exum Mountain Guides President Nat Patridge said the climbing community was devastated by the tragic news. Approximately 310,000 acres (130,000 ha) in size, the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile (64 km) long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Another guide led the tour group the rest of the way down off of the mountain.
