Sean Allen

The Port Angeles man who died while on a climbing trip in Olympic National Park in July died of multiple blunt force injuries of the head and neck, said Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney/Coroner James Kennedy. 

The body of Sean Allen was found July 20 after a two-day search when a National Park Service contract helicopter from North Cascades National Park spotted him on the southern end of Mount Mystery approaching the Del Monte ridgeline.

Allen, 38, was hiking and climbing in the Olympics on a three-day wilderness permit.

He was reported missing late in the evening on Monday, July 19 after he did not return from a backpacking trip.

National Park officials said Allen had planned to hike from Royal Basin to Home Lake, with potential climbing attempts at Mount Mystery, Hal Foss Peak, and Little Mystery.  

In an email to The Leader, Kennedy said the death was an accident.

Kennedy said Allen was believed to have been traversing a rock face when he slipped and fell 30 feet onto the rocks below.

Allen was an experienced climber.

According to Outside magazine, Allen summited 30 peaks in Olympic National Park — including Mount Deception and Mount Constance — as well as Cotopaxi in Ecuador and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. 

He was also a skilled skateboarder, and was a “local legend” in Vista, California, where he grew up, according to Outside magazine.

A Celebration of Life memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6 at Lake Crescent Lodge, where Allen worked.