It is steep, scenic and offers climbs of varying degrees of difficulty.

On Tuesday, Stairway to Heaven turned deadly, claiming 32-year-old Christopher Hunnicutt.

Hunnicutt, who recently moved to Salt Lake City from Arizona, was climbing with a friend about 10 a.m. when he fell about 200 feet, said Utah County sheriff's spokesman Dennis Harris.

Detectives later in the day still were trying to determine what caused the accident.

Hunnicutt fell from the upper portion of Stairway to Heaven's third tier, the sheriff's office said.

Harris said he's been told the victim was a "very experienced" ice climber who has scaled multiple venues. He had a helmet and safety gear.

Stairway to Heaven is well-regarded in the ice climbing community and attracts a wide variety of visitors. Water from a nearby stream moves over the cliff and freezes.

It's measured as a nine-pitch climb. A pitch is a stretch of rope about 164 feet long. Along the way, climbers have views of the canyon and Utah Valley.

Stairway to Heaven offers a mix of rock and ice climbs and climbs for beginners to experts.

"It's like a schoolroom almost," said Peter Campbell, the mountaineering and climbing director of the Wasatch Mountain Club. "Everything from first grade on up to high school."

Utah County search and rescue teams occasionally have to respond to the Stairway to Heaven and Bridal Veil to assist injured climbers and hikers.

The Tribune could find no record of other ice climbing deaths there.

ncarlisle@sltrib.com