Crushed by a block of ice: a climber loses her life while saving a comrade

A 41-year-old climber lost her life Sunday when her friend was heroically pushed off a massive block of ice while climbing Ravine Falls in Utah.

While trying to climb Duchesne County’s Raven Falls, Meg O’Neill, an avid elementary school teacher in Salt Lake City, lost her life Sunday, according to Quebec’s Escalade.

Upon seeing a huge block of ice fall in the direction of her 21-year-old boyfriend, the woman would have pushed him aside, “which probably saved his life,” the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office noted on Facebook.

The post continued: “Unfortunately, the climber who pushed her companion away from the snowfall became trapped under two huge blocks of ice and did not survive.”

The 40-year-old worked for a few years at Embark Outdoors, a nonprofit organization that helps refugee women integrate through sports and the outdoors, according to “Escalade Québec.”

During the impact, a 34-year-old man, who was secured with a rope by the 21-year-old climber, was injured after falling 12 metres.

The man was lifted from the mountain by helicopter, seriously injuring him.

“His condition is unknown at this time,” the sheriff’s office said.