For more than six decades, Pete Cleveland was a fixture of rock climbing in the Midwest.
He was most renowned for his solo ascent of a treacherous 6,270-foot peak in South Dakota called Superpin nearly 60 years ago, according to the South Dakota Public Broadcasting network.
Even in his 80s, Mr. Cleveland remained an avid climber. Weather permitting, he went climbing every week at Devil’s Lake State Park near his home in Wisconsin and trekked for at least a mile every day, his son, Daniel Cleveland, said in an interview on Wednesday.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Cleveland, a retired physician, was with a group of hikers at the state park and was rappelling down a steep slope when he fell around 25 feet, his son said.
Mr. Cleveland was still alive when rescue workers arrived, but he died of his injures before he could be treated, the authorities said.
“It was an accident, and we are shocked,” said Daniel Cleveland, an Atlanta resident who owns an escape room business.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post 84-Year-Old Climber Who Died in Fall Was an Avid Mountaineer appeared first on New York Times.
