A climber found dead at Grand Teton National Park last weekend has been identified as 42-year-old Hitoshi Onoe, a Japanese national who worked in San Jose.
Rangers at the park in Jackson, Wyoming responded to a report around noon on Saturday from another climber ascending Teewinot Mountain of a deceased body at the base of the Black Chimney route. Authorities arrived on the scene and recovered Onoe’s remains.
A park spokesperson told the Jackson Hole Daily they believe he died on Friday.
The National Park Service has not determined a cause of death and an investigation is ongoing.
According to the paper, Onoe, an IT engineer, was vacationing and staying at a local Air Bnb.
Officials said Onoe was alone on Teewinot Mountain, a 12325 ft. peak with many popular climbing routes.
He appeared to be heading to the mountain's 5,600 foot East Face route, which is classified as a fourth class climb and is notoriously difficult, the paper reported. Meanwhile, the mountain’s Black Chimney route, where Onoe’s body was recovered, is a fifth class climb and rated more difficult than the East Face ascent.
Teewinot Mountain has claimed a number of fatalities over the years, including in 2018 when a nurse slipped and fell to his death.
"It’s so easy to underestimate it," Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr told the paper. "You’ll read the guidebooks and they’ll say it’s fourth class climbing and, yeah, if you’re right on route it is, but it’s nearly impossible to stay right on route and that’s where people underestimate it and get into big-time trouble."
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