Before she died in a horrible ice climbing strategy Meg O’Neill pushed a fellow climber to safety. They were ascending a frozen waterfall in Utah when a massive column cracked loose. “A 34-year-old man who accompanied the two female climbers was severely injured after falling 40 feet.”
Ice climbing tragedy
According to reports by the New York Post, “a 41-year-old woman has died after pushing a fellow climber out of the way to save her.”
The tragedy happened as “a massive ice column” split loose from the frozen Utah waterfall they were climbing. The deceased “was identified by her friends as Meg O’Neill.” Her companions haven’t yet been named.
The group had been attempting to scale Raven Falls on Sunday, April 2. They seemingly made considerable progress before the frozen blocks sheared away, right above where they were climbing.
Meg O’Neill of Salt Lake City, Utah, died after she pushed a belayer out of the way of falling ice. https://t.co/lmKSmjV2ik
— ExplorersWeb (@ExplorersWeb) April 5, 2023
As the massive blocks dropped into Indian Canyon, they carried Ms. O’Neill with them to her death. According to the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office, she “managed to push a 21-year-old woman out of the way of falling ice.” Officals note that “probably saved her life.”
After everything stopped moving, O’Neill “wound up crushed beneath two huge blocks of ice.” She was pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics treated the “severely” injured male climber for injuries sustained in a fall of at least 40 feet.
He’s alive thanks to both the unharmed climber and the deceased who saved her. The survivor had to trek out for help.
Climb down and drive for help
The first thing she realized once the facts of the situation became painfully obvious is that remote frozen waterfalls in the Utah wilderness don’t get great cell service.
She had to climb solo back down the ice, then on down the slope to where the vehicles were left. From there, she had to drive to a spot where she could get enough signal to dial 911.
Once first responders made it to the scene, they called in a chopper for air support. They used it to “hoist the injured male climber and fly him to a hospital to be treated for serious injuries.” As of Wednesday, there’s no update on his condition.
Meg O’Neill crushed by ice saving another climber in Utah #Nypost https://t.co/UFHVVW554U
— Orkidie News (@Orkidie) April 5, 2023
The Sheriff’s office relates that “it took firefighters, search and rescue teams, paramedics and volunteers about 30 hours to recover O’Neill’s body” from under the massive ice blocks. They hailed her as a “brave, outrageous woman who lost her life while saving another.”
Ms. O’Neill reportedly “worked at Embark Outdoors, a nonprofit organization that inspires young refugee woman through outdoor sports.” This ice climbing expedition was only one of many. Camille Fiducia, O’Neill’s colleague, described her as the “heart and soul” of their program.
As “an avid outdoorswoman and climber, O’Neill had a vision to make outdoor activities more inclusive. If all of us can be one-eighth what Meg’s attitude of service were, what a change that could be in our local community.“
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