Bay Area rock climber dies in Zion National Park

The National Park Service says a 47-year-old Bay Area man rock-climbing in Utah's Zion National Park died over the weekend after falling in a canyon.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY — The National Park Service says a 47-year-old San Francisco Bay Area man rock-climbing in Utah's Zion National Park died over the weekend after falling in a canyon.

Park officials say Christopher H. Spencer of San Jose died Sunday after plunging about 80 feet down a steep slope in Zion Canyon.

Park spokeswoman Aly Baltrus says in a statement that Spencer was not connected by climbing rope or wearing a helmet when he fell.

Rescue crews flew Spencer to Dixie Regional Medical Center in nearby St. George. Spencer died at the hospital.

He is the fourth person to die this year in Zion, which is Utah's most popular park.

In late September, a 34-year-old man died after rising floodwaters trapped him in one of the park's narrow canyons.

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