Fort Collins police say a woman fell about 40 feet (12 meters) to her death at an indoor climbing gym in northern Colorado. Police spokesman Brandon Barnes reports the woman fell at Ascent Studio Climbing & Fitness on Saturday, and it appears she became unattached from the auto-belay system. Investigators did not find any faulty equipment. The coroner’s office has not released the climber’s name.
ABC reports the climbing gym in Fort Collins released a statement Tuesday calling the fall a “tragic event” and expressing sympathy for the climber’s friends and family. It also said the auto-belay systems that keep climbers from falling will not be used at least until a full investigation is completed.
Fatal accidents at indoor climbing gyms are extremely rare, with only a handful in the United States in the last decade. In 2014, a man died while climbing indoors at the Boulder Rock Club.
