A man fell to his death Sunday morning after a failed jump off the Stawamus Chief, the Squamish RCMP confirmed.
At 9:57 a.m. Sunday morning the base-jumper leapt from the first peak of the Chief, according to Sgt. Jolaine Percival of the RCMP.
Witnesses told police the man's parachute didn't open in time.
"By the time it finally did, he was substantially too close to the ground," Percival said. "Unfortunately, he succumbed to some pretty serious injuries."
Shortly after the accident, the B.C. Coroner’s Service pronounced the man deceased, Percival said, adding that no other information will be available until the man's next of kin have been notified.
Percival said base-jumping is not illegal and people are going to do it.
"We live in a very beautiful area and Squamish is hardwired for adventure – people come from around the world to do stuff like this so unfortunately, this is not the first time something like this has happened, and it won't be the last," she said.
"As police officers we just want to ensure that people, if they opt to do this type of adventure, they are safe and get home to their families. It is unfortunate it wasn't the case this time," Percival said.
Almost one year ago, in late July of 2015, a local 40-year-old speed-flyer died after launching from the first peak of the Chief and crashing into a tree.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said there’s no real way to stop adventurers from pursuing dangerous activities in the corridor, and if there were, she wouldn’t want to.
“Human nature is to push boundaries and if we aren’t pushing boundaries physically, mentally – all those things – then we are stopping being human,” she said.
**Please note this story has been updated since it was first posted to include comment from the mayor.
