Will Stanhope, Canadian Free Solo Climber, Dies at 39 After Fall on Stawamus Chief

Key facts

• Will Stanhope, 39, died on April 23 after a fall on the Stawamus Chief in Squamish, British Columbia.
• He fell approximately 20 metres while climbing the traditional route Rutabaga (5.11a) on April 13.
• Stanhope was transported to hospital in serious but stable condition and died 10 days later from a severe head injury.
• He was a professional free solo climber and a member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG).
• Stanhope made the first free ascent of The Prow via Teddy Bear’s Picnic on The Chief in 2007.
• He completed the first free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route in the Bugaboos in 2015, a route that later collapsed.
• In 2024, he teamed with Tim Emmett for the first free ascent of the south ridge of Combatant via Smoke and Mirrors.
• Stanhope was widely admired for his humility, kindness, and prodigious memory, according to friends and family.

A Fall on the Grand Wall

Will Stanhope, one of Canada’s most accomplished professional rock climbers, died on April 23 after a fall on the Stawamus Chief, a 700-metre granite monolith overlooking Squamish, British Columbia. He was 39. The accident occurred on April 13 while Stanhope was climbing a traditional route called Rutabaga, an intermediate 5.11a line on the Grand Wall section of the he fell approximately 20 metres and sustained serious injuries, including a severe head injury. B.C. Emergency Health Services received the emergency call at about 3 p.m. PT. Paramedics, including primary and advanced care personnel, treated Stanhope at the scene and transported him to hospital in serious but stable condition. He died ten days later.

Family and Community Mourn

Stanhope’s family announced his death on his Instagram account on April 24, writing, “It is with shattered hearts that we share the news that our beloved Will passed away yesterday.” They described him as a man who “lived with a passion and courage that most of us only dream of,” adding that he had “a prodigious memory and great stories.” “He was a kind and gentle man with a fantastic sense of humour. The rock was his home, and the climbing community was his family,” the statement read. Friend and fellow climber Michael Pang said, “Will was one of the kindest and most humble people I know. His passing is a huge loss for the climbing community and the world at large.” Pang recalled that whenever they met, Stanhope would stop to catch up and often invite him to climb together, despite the vast difference in their abilities. “He always invited me to rope up with him, even though we both knew I couldn’t keep up with him as strong as he was,” Pang said.

A Life Immersed in the Vertical World

Stanhope was widely known for his free solo climbing — ascending without ropes or safety gear — and worked as a rock guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. His climbing career spanned two decades and took him from Squamish’s local crags to remote alpine faces in Patagonia, Tasmania, and the Bugaboos. In 2007, he made the first free ascent of The Prow via Teddy Bear’s Picnic on The Chief. The following year, he wrote about the experience in the Canadian Alpine Journal, describing the “laser-cut corner-work” and “desperate boulder problem” of the route. Over the next years, he climbed Cobra Crack in Squamish, free soloed Separate Reality in Yosemite, and repeated The Prophet on El Capitan. He frequently partnered with elite climbers such as Alex Honnold, with whom he climbed Southern Belle on Half Dome. Honnold later said of Stanhope: “It’s just the stuff he likes to do—some people like hard bouldering, he likes scary trad routes… He’s just a real climbing dude, the kind you want to have sitting around the campfire. You know, a real climber.”

First Ascents and Epic Adventures

Stanhope’s appetite for first ascents took him to some of the most challenging terrain on Earth. In 2011, he and Andrew Boyd climbed the south face of the Turret in British Columbia. In 2014, he travelled to the Turbio Valley in Patagonia with Marc-Andre Leclerc, Paul McSorley, and Matt Van Biene to make the first ascent of La Vuelta de los Condores. In 2015, Stanhope and Matt Segal achieved the first free ascent of the Tom Egan Memorial Route in the Bugaboos, a line that no other party repeated before it collapsed in a rockfall a few years later. Stanhope wrote of the experience: “We rigged the rappels and threw our ropes down the Sunshine Route raps, just as the storm began in earnest. On the descent we got hit with savage hail and terrifying thunder.” In 2017, he partnered with Leo Houlding to climb the South, Central, and North Howser Towers in a single day — a feat they called The Trifecta. In 2021, he established a difficult new route on The Chief named Heavy Fuel in the Western Dihedrals. His last major ascent came in 2024, when he and Tim Emmett made the first free ascent of the south ridge of Combatant in the Waddington Range via Smoke and Mirrors.

A Legacy Etched in Stone and Stories

Beyond his physical achievements, Stanhope was a gifted writer who chronicled his climbs with vivid prose. His accounts in the American Alpine Journal and Gripped magazine captured not only the technical challenges but also the moments of humour, gratitude, and connection to nature that defined his approach. In his story Heavy Fuel, he wrote: “Arriving at the rim at dusk I was drenched in sweat and cramping badly in my forearms and hands. After coiling the ropes, I walked barefoot over to my favourite vantage point on the rolling slabs looking south. … Feeling connected, feeling grateful. Hail to the Chief.” Stanhope’s death has sent a wave of grief through the global climbing community. Squamish Search and Rescue’s Christy Allan confirmed that a ground team responded alongside other first responders, and due to the rough terrain, a long-line rescue was arranged to transport Stanhope to a forward operating base at St’a7mes School, where B.C. Ambulance met them.

Questions Remain About the Accident

While the circumstances of the fall are known — a 20-metre descent on Rutabaga — it remains unclear whether Stanhope was free soloing at the time. it has not confirmed whether he was climbing without ropes when he fell. The route Rutabaga, rated 5.11a, is considered intermediate in the Yosemite Decimal System, which ranges from 5.0 to 5.15. Stanhope’s family did not specify the exact nature of the climb in their statement. the incident involved at least a 20-metre fall, based on information from Squamish Search and Rescue. The rescue operation included a long-line extraction due to the difficult terrain. For the climbing community, the loss is profound. As Michael Pang put it, “His passing is a huge loss for the climbing community and the world at large.” Stanhope’s legacy, however, endures in the routes he established, the stories he told, and the quiet humility with which he pursued a life on the rock.

The bottom line

• Will Stanhope died on April 23 from a severe head injury sustained in a 20-metre fall on the Rutabaga route (5.11a) on the Stawamus Chief.
• He was a professional free solo climber and ACMG guide, known for bold first ascents and a humble, generous character.
• Stanhope’s climbing career included first free ascents of The Prow (2007), the Tom Egan Memorial Route (2015), and Heavy Fuel (2021), among others.
• He wrote extensively about his climbs, contributing to the American Alpine Journal and Gripped magazine with vivid, reflective prose.
• The accident occurred on April 13; he was transported to hospital in serious but stable condition and died ten days later.
• The climbing community remembers him as a kind, gentle man with a prodigious memory and a fantastic sense of humour.