Will Stanhope, a well-known and loved climber, has died after a fall from the Chief. Photos: Instagram
Will Stanhope, a professional rock climber with deep ties to the rock climbing community, is dead after a fall from the Stawamus Chief on April 23. According to Squamish (B.C.) Search and Rescue (SAR), Stanhope fell around 65 feet and “sustained serious injuries” that led to his death.
“It is with shattered hearts that we share the news that our beloved Will passed away yesterday,” Stanhope’s family wrote. “A severe head injury sustained after a fall on a route called Rutabaga, on the Squamish Chief was the cause.”
The Chief, as it’s more commonly known, is a massive, granitic dome near Squamish, British Columbia. About 40 miles from Whistler Mountain, it is one of the world’s largest granite monoliths that garnered 462,000 climber days — one person climbing on one day — in 2025.
Rutabaga, the route Stanhope was climbing when he fell, is an intermediate route at 5.11a on the Grand Wall of the Chief. Squamish SAR responded to the call out at around 3 p.m. When they arrived on scene, other first responders were already there, but the terrain made the rescue a tricky one.
“The subject was stabilized and due to the rough terrain and nature of the injuries, we arranged a long-line rescue to our forward operating base at St’a7mes School, where we were met by B.C. Ambulance,” B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedic public information officer Brian Twaites told the CBC. “Paramedics provided emergency medical treatment and transported the patient to the hospital in serious but stable condition.”
Stanhope was a well-known free-solo climber who absolutely loved what he did. “For me, it’s the most beautiful way to move over rock unencumbered, and it’s a great feeling,” he said in a YouTube video from 2015. “I love everything about climbing, I love being in nature, having huge adventures with my friends, and the simple joy of moving over rock never gets old to me, it’s an awesome feeling.”
The climbing community and everyone who knew Stanhope is reeling at the news of his death.
“Will lived with a passion and courage that most of us only dream of,” his family wrote. “He had a prodigious memory and great stories. He was a kind and gentle man with a fantastic sense of humor. The rock was his home, and the climbing community was his family. He faced every ascent with an inspiring spirit. To all of you who climbed with him, followed his journey, and loved him: thank you for being part of his adventurous life. Your memories of Will are hugely appreciated.”
A celebration of life is being organized to take place in Squamish later this spring.
