Climber Dies from 200 ft Fall in Poke-O-Moonshine

by Kelli M

CHESTERFIELD, N.Y. (AP) _ An experienced climber Dennis Luther died after falling about 200 feet from an Adirondack rock-climbing route on Sunday, according to police.

Dennis Luther, 54, was rappelling down the north face of Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain in Essex County when he fell on Sunday afternoon. A climbing companion called for help, but the Morrisonville man died at the scene.

According to police the fall was an accident.

Luther was a traditional rock climber, Poke-O-Moonshine is considered a national caliber rock-climbing area and is popular with advanced technical climbers.

There are nearly 150 established "trad" or traditional rock climbing routes up the cliffs of Poke-O-Moonshine reaching 450-feet at the highest point

Adirondack rock-climbing guide Don Mellor, of Lake Placid, who climbed with Luther for over 20 years was deeply saddened to learn of the accident Sunday, which he called a "gigantic" loss to the close-knit, technical climbing community.

"He's a good guy, a good friend of all of ours," Mellor said. "It's a gigantic loss to all of us in the local community, which is really tight."

Luther earned great respect as a rock climber and was "very, very beloved by all his friends."

The last fatal climbing accident on the mountain, about 130 miles north of Albany, occurred in the winter of 2002, when a Canadian man was killed in a fall.

sources- PressRepublican