Famed climber Chad Kellogg, 42, died in Argentina after a rockfall in Patagonia.
The Seattle Times and New York Times reported that a falling rock crushed Kellogg Friday as he descended Mount Fitz Roy with climbing partner Jens Holsten. Holsten continued the descent on his own.
Kellogg was a former climbing ranger at Mount Rainier. He once held the record for the fastest ascent-descent of Mount Rainier with a climb of under five hours. The record has since been surpassed. In 2003, he entered his first speed-climbing contest, on a mountain in Kazakhstan, where he took home a gold medal. Kellogg also still holds the record for the fastest round-trip climb at 23 hours and 55 minutes of Denali's West Buttress route in Alaska.
Kellogg also had numerous first ascents, including a solo climb of Nepal’s Lunag Ri in 2012.
Kellogg, who ran a construction business in Seattle, also survived colon cancer and gave motivational speeches to other young cancer survivors. In 2007, his wife, Lara, died in a climbing accident in Alaska. He was sponsored by Outdoor Research.
