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Incident Record

Keith Abbe, 24, falls 50 feet to his death fleeing a bee swarm on his first outdoor rock climb; climbing partner Jess Passage stung ~100 times

Keith Abbe, a Peoria schoolteacher and karate instructor who had just moved to Arizona from Michigan, was on his first-ever outdoor rock climb with best friend Jess Passage on Camelback's Hart Route when bees attacked from a hive near the top. Running out of rope while down-climbing to escape, the pair untied and continued down unroped; Abbe slipped and fell about 50 feet. Passage, stung roughly 100 times, watched his friend fall and was hospitalized in stable condition. An American Alpine Club incident report from the surviving climber ('Jeff' - likely a pseudonym or the AAC report's byline differs from the news account's 'Jess Passage') provides an extraordinarily detailed first-person account of the incident, including that a prior 2001 Camelback bee attack had caused a climber's fall resulting in broken vertebrae.

Record ID: AZ-MARICOPA-2004-0307
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This record is part of a first-pass incident research dataset. Records, categories, and source notes may be updated as additional information is reviewed and verified.
Date 3/7/2004
Location Camelback Mountain, Hart Route (near the Praying Monk), Phoenix, AZ, Maricopa County, AZ
State AZ
Record Type Fatal Attack / Mass Stinging
Trigger / Activity Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure
Severity Fatality
Bee ID Status Bee ID Unknown
Aggression Classification Severe defensive attack

Incident Summary

Keith Abbe, a Peoria schoolteacher and karate instructor who had just moved to Arizona from Michigan, was on his first-ever outdoor rock climb with best friend Jess Passage on Camelback's Hart Route when bees attacked from a hive near the top. Running out of rope while down-climbing to escape, the pair untied and continued down unroped; Abbe slipped and fell about 50 feet. Passage, stung roughly 100 times, watched his friend fall and was hospitalized in stable condition. An American Alpine Club incident report from the surviving climber ('Jeff' - likely a pseudonym or the AAC report's byline differs from the news account's 'Jess Passage') provides an extraordinarily detailed first-person account of the incident, including that a prior 2001 Camelback bee attack had caused a climber's fall resulting in broken vertebrae.

Public-Safety Lesson

Bee attacks in steep or elevated terrain create a secondary fall hazard. The public-safety problem is not only sting count; it is also whether the victim has a safe escape path.

Impact Flags

Human Fatality Yes
Human Hospitalized Yes (climbing partner)
Animal Fatality No
Responder Involved Yes - Phoenix Fire Dept. (technical rescue)

Source Information

Source: East Valley Tribune / Phoenix New Times / American Alpine Club Publications

Source Strength: B - Established news / climbing incident report