Truckee rock climber falls to his death overnight

A Truckee man died after falling more than 100 feet down a cliff Wednesday night, Placer County sheriff's officials said.

The Placer Search and Rescue and Nordic teams responded when they received a call of a fallen hiker at 10:00 p.m. near Squaw Valley.

The unidentified man was with two friends in the area of Big Chief, just east of Highway 89 and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. The men, in their 20s and 30s, did some rock climbing during daylight hours and then went to hike to the top of Big Chief after dark with their headlamps on.

As they were climbing they came across a large boulder. Even with headlamps on they said their visibility was low. Suspecting a big drop on the other side of the boulder they threw rocks on the other side of the boulder to judge the distance. Unable to determine the drop they proceeded with care, but one of them fell to his death.

The name of the deceased has not been released.