A 35-year old researcher from Banglaore, living in the United States, died on Saturday after he tripped and fell 100 feet while heading down a rock climbing trail in Smith Rock State Park.
Chaitanya Sathe fell toward the Lower Gorge in the Terrebonne-area state park, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said. The fall was reported at 9:40 am and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mazamas, a non-profit mountaineering group Sathe was a member of, wrote on social media that the incident took place while he was on a personal trail climbing down the 4th class terrain to the base of the climbing area.
The Portland-based group said Sathe's climbing partner was ahead of him and did not see the accident occur. However, two climbers below "responded to Chaitanya who was pulseless and not breathing at the base of the cliff where his body came to rest".
Hailing from Belthangady of Dakshina Kannada district, Sathe completed most of his studies in Bangalore where his family lives, according to reports. He completed his Bachelors in Engineering at University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering and his masters from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
He reportedly shifted to the US 12 years ago and was a scientist and researcher at the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
While the Mazamas on their Facebook post extended their "deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends", many hikers who knew him replied to post tributes about Sathe.
"He was a mentor to me and was always so generous to share his knowledge and time. I was lucky enough to share a handful of summits with him and will cherish those memories. Rest In Peace, my friend," wrote Aimee Filimoehala.
A GoFundMe page was launched by Linda Man to raise funds for Chaitanya's father who flew from India to the US to hold cremation and a memorial. The campaign raised $16,820 and has been currently closed.
