Renowned American climber Brad Gobright dies after climbing accident in Mexico
A famed American climber died in an accident in Mexico, friends and family confirmed to ABC News on Thursday.
Brad Gobright, 31, was climbing in El Potrero Chico, Mexico, on Wednesday when he fell nearly 1,000 feet to his death, the Nuevo León Civil Protection Authority said.
Gobright was climbing with Aidan Jacobsen, 26, on the Shining Path route, which reaches about 2,700 to 2,950 feet in elevation, authorities said.
While both climbers fell, Gobright seemed to fall significantly farther and Jacobsen suffered lesions on the right ankle and various parts of the body, according to authorities.
Mexico's Civil Protection Agency coordinated Jacobsen’s descent, supported by Hidalgo police and other climbers.
Gobright free soloed -- that is, to climb alone and without rope -- and free climbed many famous walls across the world. He free soloed the Rostrum in Yosemite, according to Outside, a news outlet the covers the outdoors community.
"Brad dispatched Boulder’s most dangerous traditional climbs, broke the speed record on Colorado’s most famous route — the Naked Edge — and, most notably, climbed ropeless in Eldorado Canyon with a boldness and fervor unlike anything I’d ever seen," Cedar Wright, professional climber and National Geographic explorer, wrote in 2018 for the magazine.
Gobright and climbing partner Jim Reynolds broke a speed record on the Nose at El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 2017, according to Rock and Ice Magazine. He climbed the 3,000-foot route in 2 hours 19 minutes 44 seconds, according to the magazine.
News of his death spread quickly throughout the climbing community, with many mourning Gobright's death on social media.
Alex Honnold, who gained fame as the subject of the Oscar-winning film "Free Solo," which documented his historic climb of El Capitan, mourned Gobright’s death online.
"He was such a warm, kind soul - one of a handful of partners that I always loved spending a day with," he wrote in an Instagram post.
"I guess there's nothing really to say. I'm sad," the post continued. "The climbing world lost a true light. Rest in peace..."
Gobright's fall is the second high-profile climbing accident in less than a week. World-class climber Emily Harrington fell Monday while attempting to free climb El Capitan on the Golden Gate Route in under 24 hours.
"It wasn't a moment of panic. It wasn't a moment of surprise," Harrington, 33, told "Good Morning America." "Honestly, it was a very calm moment. In my head, it was just kind of like, 'OK, I'm falling. This is happening.'"
Harrington had climbed about 150 feet Monday when she lost her grip.
Honnold was with Harrington when she fell and was holding the rope that Harrington used to protect herself in case of this type of fall.
He explained on "GMA" Wednesday that Harrington was "using equipment to protect her in case of a fall but she was trying to just climb [El Capitan] with her hands and feet."
Honnold said even he is not sure exactly what happened during Harrington's fall because it was in the dark and was what he described as an "unusual situation."
Harrington described her condition in a post on Instagram as "’banged up but gonna be ok thankfully."
