Bend man dies while climbing Three Fingered Jack

Linn County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue on Monday afternoon recovered the body of a mountain climber from Bend who fell several hundred feet and died Sunday near the summit of Three Fingered Jack in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

When local climbers heard the news, many began pulling out maps, trying to figure out where it happened and how.

“We had our ideas of what happened, but it was really just hearsay,” climbing guide Crit Conrad said Tuesday.

Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley told NewsChannel 21 the elevation and steep terrain made for a challenging operation by SAR volunteers and Corvallis Mountain Rescue to recover the remains of 22-year-old Tyler Jeffery Heilman.

Searchers found his body Sunday evening, 4 hours after 9-1-1 dispatchers received the emergency call. The recovery was put off until Monday because of the rugged terrain and approaching darkness.

Riley said Heilman and a 23-year-old climbing partner, Corey Franklin, 23, also of Bend, were at an elevation of about 7,700 feet on the northwest side of the 7,844-foot peak, located between Mt. Washington and Mt. Jefferson.

The Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit confirmed the climbers were on the southern face of the mountain. They were climbing the widely trekked and highly popular route that many climbers do year round.

Many were confused and thought the young men were on the north side of the mountain, which is very dangerous.

Conrad said he’s climbed Three Fingered Jack many times, and that he has only gone up the south side. He said the north side is not recommended, and that guidebooks warn against it. He said it’s mostly just rubble, and the rock is very unstable.

The sheriff said Heilman and his companion were not roped together, and he fell 500 to 600 feet to his death shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday.

Dispatchers got a call around 2:10 p.m. from a climber who said he and his partner heard Franklin calling for help. When they reached him, he said his climbing partner had fallen.

Riley said Linn County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue coordinated a search for Heilman with the Oregon Air National Guard. His body was located by the Guard helicopter crew around 6:45 p.m.

Due to approaching darkness, hazardous conditions and rugged terrain, the removal operation for Heilman’s body was delayed until Monday.