Man in 20s Is Killed in Fall Off Chatsworth Climbing Hill
A man in his early 20s was killed Friday when he fell 150 feet from the top of Stoney Point, a rocky hill at the northern end of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth used extensively by rock climbers, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
The man, who was not immediately identified, apparently had climbed to the top of a massive boulder at the top of the 300-foot-high hill, then fell for unknown reasons around 5:45 p.m., Capt. Terry Jacobsen said.
The victim was climbing Stoney Point alone and without ropes, Jacobsen said. Three witnesses on the ground saw the man fall, he said.
Stoney Point, with its sheer rock faces, is a favorite practice site for rock climbers. There have been many accidents there--12 from 1980 to 1982. A climber fell to his death there in 1979.
Jacobsen said some climbers use ropes to protect themselves against falls when scaling the cliff, but that others do not.
In June, 1982, the site was bought by the City of Los Angeles and converted into a 22-acre park.
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