A Squamish woman died this week when she fell off a ledge while hiking in Washington State.
Amy R. Stein, 37, fell while walking back down to the base of the Snow Creek Wall near Leavenworth, Wash., on Tuesday (May 14).
According to the Chelan County Sheriff's office, Stein fell off a ledge into a steep ravine while attempting to avoid a large rock falling from above her.
Stein was traveling with four others. The group of climbers had descended the Orbit route on the Snow Creek Wall earlier in the afternoon and was hiking down to the base. Stein was the lead hiker when a large rock broke free above her. Stein was positioned in a narrow ravine at the time and moved to avoid the falling rock. During that maneuver, Stein accidently fell off a ledge and landed 70 to 100 feet below, officials said.
It's a very technical area for climbers, Chelan County Under Sheriff John Wisemore told The Chief. It's pretty treacherous in that area and she was jumping out of the way of a boulder and unfortunately, jumped in the wrong direction and went over a cliff.
After the accident, other members of Stein's group scrambled down to where she had fallen and determined her injuries were substantial. One member hiked out for help while the others attempted to revive her, authorities said.
Stein was pronounced dead as resucers arrived at the scene. Her body was recovered by helicopter on Wednesday (May 15) at around 9 a.m.
On Stein's website it states that she grew up in Boston and received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and her Masters in Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She lived and worked in San Francisco, then moved to Vancouver before eventually ending up in Squamish, where she had lived for the past five years.
Stay tuned to The Chief for more on this developing story.
