Youth Coach Marty Vogel Killed in Climbing Accident

Kentucky-based climber Marty Vogel, 59, was killed in a climbing accident earlier this month at Muir Valley, the details of which are not yet know. Vogel was a coach for the Lee County Youth Climbing Team and a regular at the Red River Gorge.

The Muir Valley Facebook page wrote the following: “We are deeply saddened as our condolences go to Marty Vogel’s friends and family after his passing yesterday from a climbing accident here at Muir Valley. If you climbed with Marty you knew he always brought a smile and his psych to climb. He loved to climb, but he also loved to give back to his community. He was heavily involved in coaching the Lee County Youth Climbing team and creating momentum behind it. Marty was a huge participant in rebolting and maintenance of routes across the RRG, which lucky for us, extended to being on our volunteer maintenance crew at Muir. He was a true friend of Muir Valley and the RRG climbing community. He will be missed by many.”

Vogel had climbed new routes at Red River Gorge, including Knuckle Sauce 5.12a in 2013. In a story about Vogel on Rock and Ice, his longtime friend Kevin Lange said, “He did everything with gusto.” Red more about Vogel here.