A man in his 20s died after falling 200 feet while climbing the Index Town Wall, a popular but perilous granite formation in Snohomish County.
The accident happened around 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, near the town of Index, according to Sky Valley Fire. First responders were told the climber had fallen hundreds of feet, and when crews reached him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man had been switching from one anchor to another when he failed to fully secure himself, investigators said.
The attempted rescue quickly became a recovery operation. His body was turned over to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. The sheriff’s office will investigate what led to the fall.
The Index Town Wall, a sheer 1,000-foot granite face, draws climbers from across the region. But it is also a frequent site of serious accidents.
In April, a woman was injured after falling from the Lower Town Wall and was later treated at Providence Hospital. In 2023, another climber died there after an equipment failure.
Sky Valley Fire noted the department has responded to several fall calls at the site this year, highlighting the risks of the rugged terrain. The Washington Trails Association describes the climber’s approach as “steep, with cliffy drop-offs and extremely eroded.”
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