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Record breaking climber Brad Gobright, 31, dies after plummeting 600ft down mountain in Mexico when he failed to tie a knot in the end of his rope to stop him sliding off
[MAIL] A record-breaking veteran climber fell 600-feet to his death off a steep Mexico mountain after failing to tie a knot in his rappel rope. won't make that mistake again. Brad Gobright, 31, had been rappelling down El Sendero Luminoso at El Potrero Chico on Wednesday with climbing partner Aiden Jacobson, 26. Gobright and Jacobson met each other for the first time on the day of the climb. The night before, the veteran climber had posted to Instagram asking whether anyone wanted to join him. Jacobson, from Phoenix, answered the post, and the pair met up the next morning. The pair used a 260ft rope to simul-rappel down the side of the mountain after they reached the peak, according to Outside. The climbing technique is where two climbers, using opposite ends of the same rope, descend down the side of a mountain. The rope is rigged to an anchor, and each climber acts as a counterweight to the other. If one stops weighting the rope, it could cause the other to fall. In this case, Gobright and Jacobson did not tie potentially life-saving stopper knots in the ends of their ropes because it could cause the ropes to get stuck, according to Outside. As the pair descended, they misjudged the length of rope they had on either side - with Gobright having less than he thought. And as they hadn't tied knots into the rope, when it reached its end it slipped out of his rappel device, causing him to fall 600-feet. Jacobson fell at the same time, but his fall was broken by bush and he injured his ankle. Posted by: Besoeker 2019-11-29 |
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