Elite mountain climber Chad Kellogg, 42, died after a rockfall during a climb on Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia, Argentina. According to reports, a falling rock crushed Kellogg last Friday as he descended with climbing partner Jens Holsten.
Kellogg was a former climbing ranger at Mount Rainier and had numerous first ascents, including a solo climb of Nepal’s Lunag Ri in 2012. He once held the record for the fastest ascent-descent of Mount Rainier with a climb of under 5 hours. In 2003, he entered his first speed-climbing contest, on a mountain in Kazakhstan, where he took home a gold medal. Kellogg also holds the record for the fastest round-trip climb of Denali’s West Buttress route in Alaska, at 23 hours and 55 minutes.
Kellogg, who survived colon cancer and gave motivational speeches to other young cancer survivors, ran a construction business in Seattle. In 2007, his wife, Lara, died in a climbing accident in Alaska.
