Home > Mountain

Climber Dies on Middle Sister Near Canmore

A climber in his 40s died on Wednesday evening after falling from an unknown height down the north face of the Middle Sister near Canmore.

The climber was reportedly rappelling down a route on the face with three other climbers when his anchor failed, he was the last to rappel that pitch.

The other three climbers were left stranded on a ledge at an anchor until a rescue arrived, according to reports.

A rescue operation was launched by Kananaskis Public Safety at around 7 p.m., but the climber died at the scene.

The victim, whose name hasn’t been released by RCMP, and the other three climbers were from the Canmore area.

Accident location on middle sister. Image by Global News

“It is unknown at this time what specific factors, if any, contributed to the accident,” RCMP said in a news release. “Investigators do not believe that the death is suspicious in nature.”

The north face of the Middle Sister, the middle peak of the Three Sisters, has only two known routes: North Ridge 5.10 A1 300m and the variation called Ecstasy and the Agony 5.10 A1 300m.

It’s unknown if the climbers were on one of these two routes. More details as they become available.

A climber recently died on Mount Sir Donald in B.C. after slipping on snow and falling down the west face, more here.

The only known routes on the Middle Sister. Photo Chris Perry / Bow Valley Rock

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The Best Climbing Gear According to Our Editors – March

Every month we're bringing you our favourite gear so you can complete your climbing kit with the latest and best stuff out there