Jake Whisenant cause of death reported as blunt-force trauma

Jake Whisenant cause of death was preliminarily determined as blunt-force trauma after a fall during a climb, TMZ reported, citing the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Coroner.

According to TMZ, the coroner ruled the manner of death an accident. The report said toxicology results were still pending.

What did the coroner report about Jake Whisenant’s death?

TMZ reported that the coroner provided a preliminary cause of blunt-force trauma and classified the death as accidental. No coroner release setting out further details of the fall is included in the available reporting.

Whisenant was 30 when he died on Aug. 3 in an accident in California’s Sierra Nevada, according to Tulare County coroner records cited by The Independent. Earlier reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Post, also citing the coroner, said no additional circumstances of the accident had been released at that point.

Whisenant, a Mammoth Lakes climber, was known in the climbing community for speed ascents on Yosemite’s El Capitan. In 2024, he and Brant Hysell set a reported speed record on the formation’s Lurking Fear route, according to TMZ and other reports citing climbing publication Gripped.

He also completed two ascents of El Capitan’s Nose route in one day with Noah Fox in May, finishing in 14 hours and 38 minutes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s report, which cited the Yosemite Climbing Association.

Bailee Moore, who described herself as Whisenant’s lifelong friend and confidant, announced his death in an Instagram tribute. She wrote that his family was devastated and took comfort in the fact that he had died doing what he loved in the Sierra Nevada, The Independent reported.

The latest update remains TMZ’s report of what the Tulare County coroner told the outlet: a preliminary blunt-force-trauma finding, an accidental manner of death and toxicology results still pending.

This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.