KENT–A 30-year-old Great Barrington man died Thursday after falling approximately 40 feet while rock climbing at St. John’s Ledges along the Appalachian Trail in Kent.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Environmental Conservation Police responded to the area at around 2:30 p.m. off River Road and announced the man’s death later that day.
Kent Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tim Sneller, who responded to the scene, said the victim was among approximately 12 people participating in a climbing class and was believed to be one of the instructors.
“I think everyone was in shock from that [climbing] group,” Sneller said. “They were huddled up and debriefing, and they were definitely shocked.”
The ledges are less than a mile from the parking lot, with the base of the climbing area about a seven-minute hike from where emergency vehicles could park, Sneller said.
Approximately two dozen first responders were at the scene, including 12 to 14 who entered the woods. Responders came from Kent, Warren, Gaylordsville and Sherman, with an ambulance and medic responding from New Milford.
Sneller said he could not recall another death or serious injury at the ledges and that emergency calls from the area are uncommon.
The climber was transported to New Milford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to DEEP. His identity has not been released pending notification of his family.
The circumstances of the fall remain under investigation.
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