SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Two people fell while climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon Friday evening, leaving one dead and another hospitalized, according to Unified Police.
A call came in around 7 p.m. Friday from someone who reportedly witnessed the two climbers fall, but could not get to where they had fallen.
Search & Rescue crews as well as a police drone were sent to locate the fallen boulder climbers. Upon finding the two individuals, crews pronounced one woman, identified as Kaitlyn Brann, 34, of Park City, deceased.
Her boyfriend, a 30-year-old male climber, was taken to the hospital and is now expected to recover, police say.
Kaitlyn Brann (left) and her boyfriend (right). The couple was climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon on May 14 when they fell. Kaitlynn Brann was pronounced dead on the scene and her boyfriend was hospitalized. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann (right) and her boyfriend (left). The couple was climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon on May 14 when they fell. Kaitlynn Brann was pronounced dead on the scene and her boyfriend was hospitalized. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann rock climbing. Kaitlyn Brann was climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon with her boyfriend on May 14 when they fell. Kaitlynn Brann was pronounced dead on the scene and her boyfriend was hospitalized. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann rock climbing. Kaitlyn Brann was climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon with her boyfriend on May 14 when they fell. Kaitlynn Brann was pronounced dead on the scene and her boyfriend was hospitalized. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann rock climbing. Kaitlyn Brann was climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon with her boyfriend on May 14 when they fell. Kaitlynn Brann was pronounced dead on the scene and her boyfriend was hospitalized. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann died in a climbing accident on May 14 in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Her boyfriend was hospitalized due to his injuries. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann) 
Kaitlyn Brann died in a climbing accident on May 14 in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Her boyfriend was hospitalized due to his injuries. (Courtesy of Dylan Brann)
Kaitlyn Brann’s brother, Dylan Brann, said her impact on people’s lives will continue even after she is gone. Dylan Brann said his sister had “an enthusiasm for life” and a “magnetism to her.”
“I joke that if you knew my sister it meant you were broken but it also meant she probably helped fix you,” Dylan Brann said.
He said he was going to bed around midnight when he received the call from his parents.
“I’m never going to see her again and that breaks my heart,” he said. “I don’t know that my mom is ever going to recover from this.”
Both climbers were reportedly “well-prepared” with proper gear and helmets on, says Detective Aymee Race, Unified Police.
“Unfortunately, due to the amount of snow, once melted it can go into the boulders and cause shifting of the boulders,” resulting in two fallen boulders, Race says.
Her brother said she had been climbing with her boyfriend who he thinks was the love of her life.
“She unfortunately passed doing something that she loved with somebody that she loved. So, you know, I think that’s maybe the one silver lining I can find in this tragedy.”
No further information is available at this time.
