A former Durango resident was killed Wednesday while climbing Yosemite National Park’s iconic El Capitan.
Tyler Gordon, age 21, grew up mostly in Durango and graduated from Durango High School in 2011.
An account on the local blog El Capitan Reports said Gordon fell about 200 feet from Camp 6 on El Capitan’s Nose formation when he went to retrieve items that were dropped on Camp 5 below. Gordon was not connected to his Grigri, a rope-braking device that assists in belays, causing him to free-fall the length of the rope.
Yosemite Search and Rescue responded and was able to recover Gordon’s body and lift his two climbing partners to safety, El Capitan Reports said.
Gordon was planning to spend much of the summer climbing after returning recently from a trip to Europe, said his brother, Bryce.
“He was having a great time and trying to get in as much climbing as he could before he started grad school,” Bryce Gordon said.
Tyler Gordon earned a bachelor’s degree in applied math from University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2014. He was planning to continue his studies at the University of British Columbia, Bryce Gordon said.
Tyler Gordon was the son of Connie Gordon of Durango.
Calls to Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Search and Rescue were referred to a park spokesman who was out of the office Friday.
Yosemite was in the news recently when two BASE jumpers, Dean Potter and Graham Hunt, were killed May 16. The jumpers were wearing wingsuits when they reportedly struck a rock face after leaping off Taft Point in the park.
