Jake Whisenant. Image via: Jake Whisenant/ InstagramJake Whisenant's cause of death has been determined by the Tulare County Sheriff's Office Coroner Unit, which lists the manner as accidental after the record-breaking climber fell during an ascent in the Sierra Nevada on Aug. 3. He was 30.Toxicology results are still pending, but officials have confirmed the preliminary finding. Witnesses reportedly saw the fall, and Whisenant's death was instant. The update closes a difficult week for a climbing community that had celebrated his record-setting speed ascents just months earlier.Jake Whisenant's cause of death revealedThe Tulare County Sheriff's Office Coroner Unit told outlets that Whisenant's preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma sustained in the fall, with toxicology testing still outstanding. The office ruled the manner of death an accident. The sheriff's office covers Tulare County, which includes Sequoia National Park and stretches into the southern Sierra Nevada, and its coroner unit is the agency of record for the case.NameJacob Daniel "Jake" WhisenantAge30HometownMammoth Lakes, CaliforniaDate of deathMonday, Aug. 3 (year not specified in brief)LocationSequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CaliforniaCause of deathBlunt force trauma from a fall, per Tulare County Sheriff's Office Coroner UnitToxicologyResults still pendingManner of deathRuled an accidentKnown forSpeed climbing records on El Capitan, Yosemite National ParkSignature achievementLurking Fear speed record with Brant Hysell, October 2024The National Park Service separately confirmed the incident occurred within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, telling SFGATE that a search-and-rescue operation began Aug. 2, a day before Whisenant's death was confirmed. Officials have not released a detailed account of how the fall happened.Whisenant's death adds to a difficult summer for the parks. A husband and wife died at a Kings Canyon waterfall in late May, 17-year-old Andrea Diaz Mondragon drowned in Sequoia in June, and 27-year-old Luis Alberto Gomez drowned in the same river earlier this month. The National Park Service has repeatedly cautioned visitors that the terrain carries real risk regardless of experience level.Jake Whisenant's legacyWhisenant built his reputation on speed. In October 2024, he and South Lake Tahoe climber Brant Hysell set a new record on El Capitan's Lurking Fear route, finishing in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 32 seconds and breaking a mark of 3 hours and 4 minutes that had stood since 2003, when it was set by Hirayama and Nick Fowler. Two days before the record run, the pair had already covered the same route in just over four hours, a sign of how quickly they were refining their approach.In May, Whisenant and climbing partner Noah Fox completed El Capitan's Nose route, a 3,000-foot vertical granite face, twice in a single day, finishing the double ascent in 14 hours and 38 minutes, according to the Yosemite Climbing Association.