An accident during a mountain climb in Kananaskis has claimed the life of a 27-year-old man.

The man and another climber were making their way up the northeast face of Windtower Mountain when the accident happened Sunday.

The other climber slung the unconscious man down onto a ledge about 15 meters below and did first aid before descending to the bottom of the mountain to call for help, Kananaskis RCMP Const. Kevin Misiwich said in news release.

On Monday morning, Kananaskis Emergency Rescue recovered the man who had died as a result of his injuries.

Local dies in climbing accident


By Pam Doyle
Wednesday July 19, 2006

Canmore Leader — A local climber perished on Windtower Mountain on Sunday night, according to Canmore RCMP.

Tom Brodribb, 27, from Canmore, was climbing with another man of similar age, also from Canmore, on Sunday. The two were ascending the 11th pitch of the northeast face of Windtower Mountain when the accident occurred, police say. Windtower, at 2,697 metres, is the peak closest to Mount Lougheed in Kananaskis Country.

Police would not say exactly what happened only that it was a climbing accident.

The man’s partner descended down to find Brodribb was injured and unconscious. He administered first aid to his partner and then lowered him to a ledge approximately 15 metres below the two. The man then made the solo descent to the bottom of the mountain and called 911 for emergency help. It took him several hours to get off of the mountain and down to the road to get to a phone, according to Public safety specialist George Field.

Field received the call for his expert rescue services at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“Conservation officer Nick Dykshoorn and I went in to look for this individual (in a helicopter),” Field said. “We didn’t have much light left. We found him but we couldn’t have landed at the summit and made any difference that night. We went back to the RCMP and decided to organize a search first thing in the morning.”

Field flew over the accident scene with RCMP first thing on Monday morning and took investigative photographs, he said.

Alpine helicopters pilot Chris Robertson then flew a precise sling rescue mission with the rescue crew. Because of the potential for falling rock and the steepness of the mountain, the rescue was difficult, dangerous and time-consuming.

“We added 30 metres of rope to the regular 30 metre sling rope,” Field said. “Conservation officer Mike Koppang slung onto the steep rock (from the helicopter). It was steep and he was in an underhang. We couldn’t see him at first. He clipped the deceased to a (rescue basket) on the bottom of the rope and gathered up all of his gear.”

The helicopter flew them back to Wind Ridge where they landed, detached the sling rope and entered the helicopter. They were all flown back to Canmore. The climbing route is rated a 5-10A, with 570 metres in elevation, according to Dave Stark, head guide for Yamnuska Mountain Adventures.

“That’s a difficult route,” Stark said. “It’s 12 pitches and a lot of scrambling to the summit.”

Long time climber Louis-Julien Roy agreed.

“It does have a reputation of being challenging and the mountain is steep,” Roy said. “It’s been done and redone, but it’s not very popular. I think the route that they were on is called Iron Butterfly.”

Police said that they do not suspect foul play in the accident.

Climber 'Lived Everyday to the Fullest'

Gwendolyn Richards
Calgary Herald

The final moments for an experienced Canmore climber scaling a local mountain were spent doing exactly what he loved, his father said Tuesday.
Tom Brodribb, 27 died Sunday while climbing the north-east face of Windtower Mountain with another climber..
Two days later, his family described him as a man with a passion for the outdoors and ascending mountains.
"He died doing what he loved", said his father Bob Brodribb. He lived a short life but lived every day to the fullest".
Brodribb grew up in St. Albert, the youngest of three kids.
Full of energy he lit up a room when he came into it, his father said Tuesday.
"He was one of a kind. This all came from him," he said. "It was in his blood."
Brodribb and another climber were about 150 meters from the summit of a long narrow mountain, climbing up thin layers of rock, when something went wrong on Sunday.
RCMP said the second climber got down to an unconscious Brodribb and gave him first aid before lowering him to a ledge about 15 meters below.
The climber then descended the mountain to make a call for help.
Brodribb's body has been taken to the medical examiner's office in Calgary to pinpoint the cause of death, but police said it doesn't appear he fell.
He was an experienced climber who took safety very seriously and was wearing a helmet at the time. The family added the death does not appear to be related to the climb.
RCMP said Tuesday the autopsy report was not yet available.
Brodribb leaves behind his wife, Christina, who shared his enthusiasm for the mountains.
Brodribbs funeral will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Canmore. A celebration of his life will follow at the Brodribb house.

All accounts have "descended down to him." Meaning that the climber who passed away must have been belaying.

My condolences to all involved, especially to the family and his partner who went for help. He did a heroic decent, I can’t imagine what he went through hiking out on his own. More than anyone should go through I would imagine.

B

I have heard that the easy route to the left (NE Ridge Windtower ?) has some rockfall issues in a few areas, as does this route and the rest of the Rockies though. As of now, I don’t think there is enough info to add to any theory. Maybe the autopsy will reveal something.