Early Winters Spires Climbing Incident - Retrospective and Lessons

Seattle Outdoor Adventurers Meetup organizer leadership is hosting this meeting for the public to review official reports of the incident while our community continues to mourn their loss and support their families and the surviving member during his healing process. In May 2025, four of our members were on a privately planned trip, which involved a climbing accident in the North Cascades. Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office personnel and Okanogan County Search and Rescue volunteers responded to a climbing accident in the area of North Early Winters Spire off of State Route 20, approximately 16 miles west of Mazama, WA, at approximately 1130 on May 11, 2025. A party of four climbers were involved in a fall while descending a steep gully. Three individuals were confirmed deceased at the accident site. The fourth member of the party self-extricated and contacted law enforcement. Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team assisted in extricating the deceased members of the party from the technical, mountainous terrain. The presumed cause of the accident is an anchor failure while rappelling, with more investigation still ongoing.