On February 18, 2023, McNeely on the summit of the Streaked Wall was with his girlfriend, enjoying the sunset near Moab, Utah. As he was trying to sit down, he lost his footing under his prosthetic leg and fell backwards off the cliff. He was 52. – Wikipedia
GRIPPED – One of Yosemite’s most iconic big wall speed climbers, Ammon McNeely, has died at the age of 52. During his time in the Valley, McNeely climbed over 60 routes on El Capitan and spent hundreds of days on the wall.
“McNeely was a driving force for wall climbers in Yosemite for many years,” said Yosemite photographer Tom Evans. “He was a unique character who was respected by all the climbers in Yosemite and around the world. He will be missed and remembered in the Valley. Condolences to friends and family.”
McNeely’s list of El Capitan speed ascents is long and impressive. He made the first one-day ascents of several routes, including Never Never Land with Chris McNamara in 2004, Atlantic Ocean Wall with Brian McCray in 2004 and Wall of Early Morning Light with McCray in 2004.
In 2006, McNeely, Dean Potter and Ivo Ninov climbed The Reticent Wall in 34 hours and 57 minutes, which bested the previous best time by five days. And in 2011, he was joined by Skiy Detray and David Allfrey to make the fastest ascent of Scorched Earth.
“Do we stand up and take the risks and have a blast enjoying our passion? Or do we hide in the shadows, being afraid of what might happen if we are so bold to follow our dreams?”
In Zion, McNeely became the first to climb all three routes on the Streaked Wall in a day: Latitudes 5.9 A4+, Rodeo Queen 5.10 A4+ and Tale of the Scorpion 5.10 A3+.
Known for his bold BASE jumps, he survived several accidents, including one in 2017 when he lost his right leg below the knee.
After a 2013 accident, he wrote on the old SuperTopo forum:
“Do we stand up and take the risks and have a blast enjoying our passion? Or do we hide in the shadows, being afraid of what might happen if we are so bold to follow our dreams?”
We’ll miss hearing about McNeely’s adventures. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. For a tribute to McNeely by Yosemite veteran “Pass the Pitons” Pete Zabrok … READ MORE.
