Will Stanhope Dies After 20-Metre Fall on Rutabaga

Will Stanhope died after a climbing accident in Squamish, following a fall on Rutabaga on the Squamish Chief. He was 39. His family said a severe head injury caused his death.

The route, on one of Squamish’s best-known climbing walls, was the setting for the fall that ended a career built on bold first ascents, free solos and repeat climbs on major routes in B.C., Yosemite and Patagonia.

Rutabaga On The Chief

The fall happened on Rutabaga, and the injury was severe enough to be fatal. That detail is the core of the loss: a climb Stanhope was experienced enough to tackle became the site of the accident that took his life.

Stanhope was 39, and his family said the head injury came after the fall on the Squamish Chief. He had built a long record on difficult rock, including the first free ascent of The Prow via Teddy Bear’s Picnic on The Chief in 2007.

Stanhope’s Climbing Record

His resume stretched far beyond Squamish. In 2011, Stanhope and Andrew Boyd climbed the south face of the Turret in B.C., and in 2014 he visited the Turbio Valley in Patagonia with Marc-Andre Leclerc, Paul McSorley and Matt Van Biene.

That same year, Stanhope and three other climbers made the first ascent of La Vuelta de los Condores. In 2015, he made the first free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route in the Bugaboos alongside Matt Segal.

He also free soloed Separate Reality in Yosemite and repeated The Prophet on the right side of El Capitan. Those climbs place him among the most accomplished climbers of his generation, which is why his death carries weight well beyond Squamish.

Squamish Chief Legacy

Stanhope’s name is tied to some of the hardest and boldest climbing in North America, from The Chief to El Capitan. The family’s statement puts the focus back on Rutabaga and the fatal fall, and on a climber whose record was built on routes that demanded precision, commitment and risk.