COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (AP) — A man died after falling during a hiking and climbing excursion in Big Cottonwood Canyon in northern Utah, authorities said.
Wade Joseph Meade, 29, fell near Lake Blanche around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, The Deseret News reports.
Meade was able to call police after falling about 50 feet (15 meters), police said.
“He was saying that he thought maybe he had broken a couple of ribs, and he’d experienced some face trauma,” Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray said.
A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter responded and lowered rescuers to Meade.
He succumbed to his injuries while being transported off the mountain around 5:30 p.m., Gray said.
The Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine an exact cause of death.
Meade was originally from California and lived most recently in Park City, police said.
Meade began working for the Park City ski patrol in 2017 and previously worked at Yosemite National Park in California, according to a social media page.
