An evening descent of a 14,000-ft. peak in the Sierra took a deadly turn over the weekend for a Riverside man described as an avid mountain climber.
According to Inyo County Search and Rescue Team Coordinator Randy Nixon, 54-year-old Daniel Kipper fell approximately 1,000 feet to his death Saturday as he and his climbing partner were rappelling down from the summit of Mt. Sill.
The peak towers above Big Pine at an altitude of 14,153 feet in the Palisade range. Mt. Sill requires a 10-mile approach and has several technical climbing routes on it (multi-pitch, roped climbing with gear placed to protect the climbers) of varying difficulties.
It was on that mountain at about 7:15 p.m. Saturday that, "for whatever reason," Nixon said, the anchor holding Kipper's rope to the rocks failed, and he tumbled down the face of the mountain.
Kipper's climbing partner was left stranded (likely with no rope) above the rappel n shouting for help n for several more hours until being able to descend the mountain Sunday. After hiking out during the day, he reported the accident to Inyo County Sheriff's Office that evening.
http://www.inyoregister.com/articles/2004/06/09/news/9e9bnew1.txt
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