Rock climber falls to his death in Hudson Highlands preserve

PHILIPSTOWN, N.Y. — State parks officials say a 25-year-old man has died after falling about 100 feet while rock climbing without protective ropes.
The accident happened around 6 p.m. Thursday, May 25, near Breakneck Ridge in the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve in Putnam County. Authorities say Kenneth Steier of Poughkeepsie was hiking with two friends on the popular Washburn Trail on Bull Hill in Philipstown. They went off the trail and climbed an old quarry using no equipment, and Steier fell to rocks below.
Steier was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last July, a 48-year-old New York City man died in a cliff fall at Breakneck Ridge.
The rugged Breakneck Ridge Trail, with sweeping views of the Hudson River, attracts about 100,000 visitors a year.