A beloved rock climber has fallen to her death from a cliff edge close to Las Vegas while climbing with a friend, heartbroken relatives have confirmed.
Micah Manalese, 30, from Southern California, fell while traversing the Pine Creek Trail in Red Rocks Canyon, Nevada, last weekend.
Rescuers rushed to the scene in a helicopter but they were unable to save her. Another group of climbers across the canyon also witnessed the tragedy.
Manalese’s final Facebook post revealed her deep love for rock climbing – a passion she had only recently returned to after a hiatus.
‘I have been outside climbing since 2014 but in the past four years it’s been on the back-burner,’ Manalese wrote on New Year’s Eve 2024, while sharing several photographs of her bouldering adventures.
‘I love sport climbing and it was special for me to reignite this passion for myself this year. Thank for all the belays and moments I got to spend outside. I am hungry for more.’
LVMPD said they carried out two rescue missions simultaneously on the popular ‘Cat In The Hat’ climbing route during the afternoon of January 18.
Rescue teams rushed to help Manalese, while some responders also extracted four climbers who got their rope stuck across the canyon.
Writing on a fundraising page to cover her funeral expenses, Manalese’s family said the party of four witnessed her accident from across the gorge.
Her devastated boyfriend, Robert, also shared a heartbreaking tribute to the beloved climber on Instagram in the days after she died.
‘This weekend, I lost my best friend, my partner in crime, my girlfriend. I am crushed,’ he wrote, while sharing several photographs of them climbing together.
‘Micah was a truly special person. She was outgoing, courageous, and a blessing to anyone who had the chance to meet her.
‘I will always cherish the time we spent together. She absolutely meant the world to me, and I wish we could have shared more of this world with each other.’
Her sister, Michel Manalese, also paid tribute via Instagram on Thursday.
‘Last Saturday, Micah had an accident and passed away doing what she loves, rock climbing,’ Michel wrote.
‘She had been climbing for 10 years. It was her one of her many passions and talents in life. My family, her friends, and I have been grieving this tremendous loss.’
‘I miss you so much Micah. You were so talented, creative, beautiful, strong, and full of energy. I’m so lucky to have you as my sister,’ she added.
‘I wish I could hug you, tell you how much you make me proud, and how you were the best big sister I could ask for’.
Michel added that her sister was ‘the most inspiring person in my life’ and shared a link to a fundraiser for their family.
The fundraiser said Manalese would frequently practice climbing at Sender One in Santa Ana, California.
Manalese was from Carson, Southern California, and had been living in nearby Aliso Viejo, according to her Facebook profile.
She worked as a cashier at Wild Rivers and studied at California State University, per the page.