Glendale Man Falls to Death While Canyoneering in Death Valley

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DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – A 41-year-old Glendale man fell 380 feet to his death while canyoneering in Death Valley National Park.

On Saturday, March 23, 2019, Matthew Yaussi was rappelling down the cliff when he slipped and fell. Canyoneering is an activity that combines hiking, down-climbing, and rappelling down canyons. Yaussi and his hiking partner hiked around 4000 feet up a ridge. Once up, they began their descent of Bottomless Pit Canyon. Bottomless Pit Canyon is a canyon south of Titus Canyon in the Grapevine Mountains.

When Yaussi fell, at around 8:30 p.m. his partner had already rappelled to the ground. His canyoneering partner activated an emergency locator beacon and was extracted later the that night by U.S. Navy’s VX-31 helicopter. Yaussi’s body was recovered the next day by Inyo County Sheriff’s Deputy and California Highway Patrol’s H-80 helicopter.