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MURRAY — The family of a Murray man who died in a rock climbing accident Wednesday remembers him as adventurous, loving and full of life.
Ephraim Leo Cook, 25, was climbing Outside Corner in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Wednesday when he fell an estimated 100 feet. He was deceased when police arrived.
"He would say, 'Climbing is my life, skiing is my life, football is my life.' But then music was his life, too," said Ephraim's twin brother, Heber Cook. "He lived a really full life just doing what he loved."
Ephraim's dad, Blaine Cook, said his son had been having a "beautiful" day climbing with Sarah Radulic, his girlfriend of around two years.
"He just loved climbing, and he was doing what he loved," Blaine Cook said.
Ephraim Cook's sister, Whiteley Goddard, said Ephraim loved to climb in Big Cottonwood Canyon and along the Wasatch Front. He had a great passion for doing tricky, challenging climbs, Goddard added.
Cook introduced Goddard to climbing. "I kind of grew up trying to be like him in that way," Goddard said.
A 2016 graduate of Murray High School, Cook was football team captain his senior year and had a great love for his teammates.
His mom, Sarah Cook, shared the story of when he dislocated his elbow during a game while trying to go for a touchdown. She said he didn't want to leave his team, so he waited to go to the hospital until the game was over.
"He went back to the game and led the team in prayer, and cheered and buoyed them up," Sarah Cook said. "He didn't want to leave his boys."
That love carried over to everyone he met, his family said.
"He loved so hard, he cared so much, and everyone who knew him absolutely adored him," Goddard said. "He's just so good."
Sarah Cook said her son always looked out for the underdog, that children "flocked" to him, and that he was always seeking to help someone in need.
"You immediately just felt loved by him and loved him when you were in his presence," Sarah Cook said. "He had a charisma that was dripping off him. He loved everyone."
Heber Cook described his brother as "high-energy" and "extroverted." When the twins were in high school, he said Ephraim often encouraged him and helped him feel included.
"Each person is unique, but Ephraim Leo Cook was outrageously unique," Heber Cook said.
Cook was also a talented singer and musician. He taught himself to play the guitar, wrote his own songs and was working with friends to edit and record his own music under the stage name "Leo and the Current."
"He had the most gorgeous singing voice," Heber Cook said. Along with singing and playing the guitar, Ephraim rapped, did beatboxing and danced hip-hop.
"His whole body was a musical instrument," Heber Cook said. "He was on his way to be famous."
The Cooks also remember how much Ephraim made them laugh. Heber Cook said Ephraim could do an impression of "anyone," and Goddard said he knew how to match anyone's sense of humor.
"He would just make people roll on the floor laughing," Heber Cook said. "We're gonna miss that about him. … Our hearts are broken."
Along with rock climbing, Cook was an avid skier and loved anything adventurous. Heber and Ephraim Cook went skydiving together on their 18th birthday.
After high school, he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Jobs he worked included lifeguarding, operating a lift at Alta, surveying customers at Jackson Hole, and guiding tours in the U.S. Virgin Islands, taking tourists snorkeling and kayaking. His boss told the Cook family that Ephraim was the best tour guide she'd ever had.
That's also where he met Radulic, of New Jersey, who was climbing with him when he died on Wednesday.
He was good at just going for things and not really worrying about the risk, but just living his life.
– Whiteley Goddard
Blaine Cook described Radulic's attempt to save Ephraim as "heroic." She was higher up on the mountain when Ephraim fell, meaning she had to climb down and get out of her harness to try to reach him, hanging from a rope while she waited for a helicopter to arrive.
Cook was wearing all the correct climbing equipment, including a helmet, and his family is still unsure exactly what led to his fall.
Goddard called the incident "a freak accident."
"Ephraim is a very experienced climber," said Goddard, who Cook introduced to climbing. "I've been with him — he's very smart, he knew exactly what he was doing. We really just don't know the details of what happened."
Goddard said her brother preferred traditional, or "trad" climbing, a type of free climbing where the lead climber puts up their own protection equipment as they ascend.
"Everyone who climbs knows it's a risk," Goddard said. "But he was just super courageous. He was good at just going for things and not really worrying about the risk, but just living his life."
Sarah Cook said Ephraim was inspired by the stories of rock climbers who had died climbing, watched many documentaries about them and did lots of research about rock climbing.
Blaine Cook said he doesn't know much about the climbing community but that he hopes to get in touch with climbing organizations that help promote climbers' safety.
A GoFundMe* account was set up to help with funeral expenses, travel expenses and to support Radulic. The family also hopes to donate money to organizations encouraging safe rock climbing.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
