Last year on July 23, 2022, Rohan, Jesse and I set out to climb North Face of Co-Pilot Mountain. It was supposed to be a 12-hour day in the mountains, but tragedy struck, and Rohan was hit by a huge rock and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Rohan breathed his last on August 18, 2022.
Soon after the accident, I was uncomfortable sharing about this trip on the blog and more importantly, Rohan’s family didn’t want to put out anything on social media. In January 2023, I mentioned the accident in my 2022 review post. Today, I would like to share details about the trip, the accident and the rescue, as someone in the community might benefit from it.
Pre-Trip Planning
Around mid-July, Rohan and I planned to climb either the North Face of Ledge Mountain or the North Face of Co-Pilot Mountain for a day trip. There was not much information out there for both of these climbs.
A BCMC group had recently climbed the West Ridge of Co-Pilot, so we had some recent pictures. Also, based on the guidebook, the North Face of Co-Pilot seemed easier than that of Ledge Mountain. So, we finally settled on the North Face of Co-Pilot.
Jesse was also available, so we got a group chat going and finalized the plan for the climb. The weather forecast looked good for Saturday – July 23. Overall, we expected a 12-hour day and planned to be back in Squamish before 5 pm.
In terms of gear, Rohan would bring his 60 m, 9 mm rope. You can find the gear list here.
Approach
We picked up Rohan from Squamish at 4 am and made our way up Mamquam FSR and Shannon Creek Rd. We parked at the gate on Shannon Creek Rd (about 1.5 km from Sea to Sky Gondola) and started our hike around 5 am.
About an hour into the hike, we saw a brown black bear on the trail. It noticed us, and after lingering around for a few minutes, the bear descended the slope to the right of the Habrich Spur trail.
Further ahead, we climbed up the Sky Pilot Trail and continued until we reached the Sky Pilot basin. From here, we had a good view of the Co-Pilot mountain.
We weaved our way across the snowfield and the slabs to reach the base of the North Face of Co-Pilot. The moat was not too bad to cross, but it was wet in some sections. A short scramble got us to the base of the first pitch. It was about 9 am.
Co-Pilot North Face
Pitch 1
Rohan asked me if I wanted to lead the first pitch. Mentally, I was not ready yet, so I asked him to go ahead and lead it. Rohan tied into the middle of the 60 m, 9 mm rope, while Jesse and I tied into each end of the rope.
It was a low-5th climb, and in about five minutes, Rohan had built an anchor, secured himself and put us on belay. Jesse went first, and I followed him, keeping some distance between us.
Pitch 2
Jesse took on the second pitch. It was wet at the start and offered a few more options to place gear than the first pitch. Soon, Jesse belayed Rohan and me to the top of the second pitch.
Pitch 3
We could see the chimney mentioned in the guidebook from the top of the second pitch. Initially, we thought about setting up an anchor to the left of the chimney, but considering the rope drag, we decided to position ourselves right below the chimney. We also talked about the potential of rock fall in the chimney.
Rohan scrambled to the base of the chimney and set up the anchor. I followed and started the final climb on the chimney, rated 5.5 in the guidebook. Once I was further up the climb, Jesse joined Rohan.
The final pitch was longer than 30 m, so we decided to use end roping, wherein I would tie into one end of the rope and lead the climb. Rohan would tie into the other end of the rope and climb last. Jesse will tie himself a few metres above Rohan, and they both would climb simultaneously once I put them on the belay.
I switched to my rock shoes and started the final climb. I placed around five pieces of protection along the route and established an anchor once the terrain flattened out. The summit was a short walk ahead. It was about 11:10 am.
Rock Fall
I secured myself to the anchor using a clove hitch, pulled the extra rope and put Jesse and Rohan on belay in guide mode. They both started climbing, and about 10-15 minutes into the climb, I felt a strong pull on the rope.
A huge block of rock had come down and hit Rohan. He was upside down and unconscious. Rohan regained consciousness soon and asked Jesse to help him get upright. Jesse prusiked himself down to Rohan and then asked me to slowly lower them to a ledge below.
Jesse called 911 around 11:40 am and was connected to Squamish Search and Rescue. Later Jesse and I talked over the phone, and he explained that Rohan couldn’t feel his legs and was in pain but stable.
Given we had a 60 m rope and the pitch was close to 40 m, we decided that I would stay on the summit instead of rapping down on a single rope. Once Rohan was airlifted, Jesse would climb up, and then we would descend the Easy Gully route. I backed up my anchor in case the SAR decided to use the same anchor to rap down to Jesse and Rohan.
Rescue
Squamish Search and Rescue texted Jesse and me around 12:20 pm and asked us to send pictures of our surroundings as they planned for the rescue.
At 1:25 pm, a team of four from Squamish Search and Rescue arrived at the Co-Pilot summit on a Black Tusk helicopter. Another team of two from Squamish SAR was dropped off at Goat Ridge as a backup in case communication dropped between the team on Co-Pilot and the Squamish SAR command centre in Squamish.
Over the next one hour, the SAR team set up their own anchor on the summit, prepared the rope for rappel, and two Squamish SAR members rapped down to Jesse and Rohan. They establish an anchor and start preparing for Rohan’s evacuation. In the meantime, a North Shore Rescue – Talon Helicopter did a recce flight to assess the situation and prepare for the airlift.
Around 2:30 pm, Rohan, who has been conscious so far, has difficulty breathing and starts losing consciousness. Squamish SAR team members (both paramedics) perform CPR on Rohan. Around 2:45 pm, Rohan is evacuated using a long line (HEC extraction) with a technician from North Shore Rescue on the line.
Jesse and I and other SAR members were flown off the mountain later in the afternoon. Squamish RCMP coordinated with Sea to Sky Gondola to get us up the gondola and back to the car.
Rohan was taken to the Squamish staging area, where the medical team, including a Lions Bay SAR physician, attended him. We were later informed that Rohan did not have a pulse when he arrived at the staging area. The team helped get his pulse back, and he was soon airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital. After being in a coma for three weeks at Vancouver General Hospital, Rohan breathed his last on August 18, 2022.
Rohan – We Miss You
I had known Rohan for over a year, but it felt like I had known him for a lifetime. As I read the memories shared by his friends here, it was clear that he formed deep and meaningful relationships with his friends. He will be fondly remembered and sorely missed.
In writing this post, my goal is to share information about the accident, highlight rockfall hazards while alpine climbing and, specifically, the risks of climbing Co-Pilot North Face. I will likely do another post on my reflections and dealing with grief after a traumatic event and share the link here.
Finally, I want to thank all the organizations involved in our rescue and support following the accident –
Squamish SAR | Black Tusk Helicopter | North Shore SAR |Talon Helicopter | Lions Bay SAR
BCEHS, Air Ambulance and ECC | Squamish RCMP | Sea to Sky Gondola
Vancouver General Hospital
Resources:
Co-Pilot North Face: Gear List | GPX File – GAIA
Co-Pilot Rescue: Facebook Post by North Shore Rescue
Rohan Rao: Obituary
Squamish SAR: Fundraiser in memory of Rohan Rao (completed)
Glossary of climbing terms
AdventureSmart – Trip Planning
Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.
It must have been extremely difficult to publish this post even though a year has passed since the tragic incident.
Aloke – thank you for your note. Some sections were difficult to write, but I hope people searching for Co-Pilot North Face find this and understand the risks.
Such a sad story, and I’m glad you are finally able to start writing about it. Never met Rohan but I’ve followed and admired his climbing career from afar. Our brotherhood of Indian alpine climbers (especially those with young families) is small and his loss hit too close to home, and was a stomach churning reality check. My heart goes out to his family.
Prakash – thank you for your kind note and your support after the accident. I wish all three of us had met and done a trip together.