A Texas man died while climbing one of the most challenging and notorious peaks in the world this week. Kieran Liner, a 20-year-old from Austin, died after a rockfall on the famed Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps.
Liner’s sister Precenia Newman told Reporting Texas from the University of Texas at Austin that Liner fell off the mountain at about 11,500 feet in altitude. Valais Cantonal Police—which is based in Valais, a canton (like a state) in a southern Swiss area that includes the Matterhorn—wrote in a news release Liner fell sometime just after 6 a.m. Oct. 27.
“On Tuesday morning, shortly after 6 a.m., two climbers were ascending the Matterhorn via the Hörnli ridge. While at an altitude of approximately 3,500 meters, rockfall occurred nearby,” wrote Valais Cantonal Police, translated from Swiss. “One of the climbers lost sight of his companion and immediately raised the alarm.”
The police wrote Valais Cantonal Rescue Organization dispatched a helicopter to the scene, and crews “quickly located” Liner, confirming his death. An investigation is underway.
Liner’s hiking companion, Eli Hawkins, wrote a tribute to him Wednesday, calling him “my best friend my climbing partner and my brother.”
“Such a special human we’ve been through so much together, good and bad and this hurts so much f–king more than anything I’ve ever experienced and I can’t even process it,” Hawkins wrote in the Instagram post. Hawkins continued he was “going to continue climbing hard for this dude and keep him in my spirits.”
Hawkins and Liner had been on vacation climbing in the Alps. On Instagram, the duo had been chronicling their travels, mentioning Matterhorn in their videos.
Newman arranged a GoFundMe to bring Liner’s body home so the family can celebrate his life in his native Pensacola, Fla., and in Austin, where he had been living since 2020, according to Reporting Texas. More than $35,000 had been raised as of Sunday.