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FatalityOutcome: FatalFall

Fatality — Cannon Mountain, Sep 20, 2020

·Mount Cannon·Cannon Cliff (Moby Grape route)

Benjamin Kessel, 34, of Somerville, MA · party of 2

Around 4 p.m. Sunday September 20, 2020, Kessel was climbing the Moby Grape route on Cannon Cliff in Franconia Notch when a rock 'the size of a refrigerator' dislodged, severed his rope, and knocked him roughly 150 feet down the cliff into spruce trees. Other climbers located his body around 5:30 p.m.; it was recovered the next morning.

Before you head out: check the forecast, carry the Ten Essentials, leave your plans with someone, and be willing to turn back. See current conditions for Mount Cannon

Other recorded incidents on Mount Cannon

Part of the WMNF Hiker Incident Database. Every entry cites a primary or near-primary source; details are refined as the record is reviewed.