A climber fell 300 feet to his death while rappelling down Guide's Wall at Grand Teton National Park/NPS

A misstep, or perhaps equipment failure, sent a climber 300 feet to his death at Grand Teton National Park.

The incident led to an overnight rescue for park rangers, who were told Sunday night after sundown that a climber was calling for help on the north side of Cascade Canyon in an area known as the Guide's Wall.

Two hikers contacted Teton Interagency Dispatch Center via 911 about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. They were exiting Cascade Canyon shortly after sunset when they saw light from a headlamp and heard calls for help.

A team of two rangers responded by foot to the location, about two miles west of Jenny Lake, to assess the situation. The rangers made limited verbal contact with the stranded climber and learned that she was uninjured, able to spend the night at her location, and alone. Based on this information and darkness, the stranded climber remained at her location for the night and the rangers returned to the valley.  

A second team of two rangers responded early Monday morning and began to climb at first light. Once the rangers accessed the stranded climber, they learned that she had a climbing partner and he had fallen the previous day while rappelling down the wall. The rangers scanned the terrain below and located the body of the deceased climber. They then assisted the stranded climber down the wall and back to the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache while a third team of three rangers prepared to recover the body of the deceased and conduct an investigation.

The three rangers climbed one pitch and located the deceased in a gully just west of Guide's Wall. After assessing the condition of the deceased and conducting a preliminary investigation, the rangers prepared the body for extraction by helicopter long line. The deceased was flown to the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache around noon and transferred to the Teton County Coroner.

The name of the individuals involved in the incident was withheld pending notification of next-of-kin. The individuals involved were capable climbers and had appropriate equipment and gear for the climb, according to park staff. The incident continues to be under investigation. Rangers were investigating the condition and positon of the climbers' gear, the configuration of the rappel, and other factors that may have contributed to the fall.