You are here

Fall Proves Fatal to Climber in Joshua Tree National Park

Share

Joshua Tree National Park, a climbing mecca in southern California, was the scene of a fatal climbing accident on Sunday. NPS photo of "the Arete" by Sam Roberts.

A 67-year-old icon of the southern California climbing community has died in a fall at Joshua Tree National Park.

Curtis Woodrow Stark II, of Riverside, California, was leading a climb up a formation known as the "Great Burrito" on Sunday when he encountered problems and began to descend. However, the climber lost his grip and fell, striking his companion, Alfred Kuok, on the way down. While Mr. Kuok's equipment prevented him from falling any farther, Mr. Stark plummeted about 100 feet and died from head injuries, according to park officials.

The two men were climbing in an area near the Hidden Valley Nature Trail. Two nearby rock climbers responded to the scene and lowered Mr. Kuok, 44, of Claremont, California, from the cliff face.

National Park Service rangers received word of the accident at approximately 4:40 p.m. Park rangers and members of the Joshua Tree Search & Rescue responded to the incident. Mr. Kuok was treated by emergency personnel for back pain, rib injuries, and other possible internal injuries.

A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was called in and airlifted Mr. Kuok to Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs. Personnel from the Riverside County Coroner’s Office also responded to the accident scene.

Joshua Tree is a climbing mecca, drawing both climbers and bouldering athletes from around the world. The park boasts more than 400 climbing formations that combined offer about 8,000 routes.

According to local media reports, Mr. Stark had popularized Joshua Tree as a climbing area back in the 1960s and pioneered many of today's popular routes.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.