'He made so many people's lives better': Friends remember teen who died after Devil's Castle fall

MIDVALE — Friends and family gathered at the Momentum Climbing Gym Tuesday night to remember 16-year-old Zachary Jacob Crandall, who fell while climbing Devil's Castle Trail last Wednesday.

Zachary was set to graduate from Brighton High School this spring and was also an indoor rock climber, spending a lot of time climbing at the Momentum Climbing Gym. Friends, including Walter Stewart,16, who was with him that day, have expressed extreme sadness for what happened.

Walter made a post on Instagram that KSL has been given permission by him and his mom to draw from. In it, Walter told his account of that day.

"We were hiking Devil's Castle and had just finished when we took a wrong turn," Walter's post read. "We had gone too low, so the only way back to the trail was to climb up. There were two routes. Me and the other hikers went the first way, which looked much safer. Zach wanted to try the second path."

He explained what it was like to watch his friend start to fall, adding that he and his friend "ran over to the ledge (and Zach) was gone."

"I kept telling myself that he was going to be okay," he said. "I almost convinced myself that the whole experience was a dream and that I was going to wake up any second."

KSL connected with Walter's mom, Stacy Stewart, who said that her son and Zach were very close and that Walter and the other boys have been through something "very traumatic" and "carry a lot of guilt" for what happened that day.

She also asked for kindness and clarification about some events that transpired.

"(After calling 911), they tried to figure out if there was any way to get to Zach on their own," she said. "When they realized his wasn't possible, they wanted to wait until their friend was rescued. They came down the mountain on their own when authorities told them to."

This wasn't the first time the friends had hiked together. In fact, according to Stacy Stewart, they were training for the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup (WURL), which is a famous extreme mountaineering route in the state. She also said Walter and his friends wanted to make sure it wasn't their last time in the great outdoors together, adding that this morning, they went for a short hike to remember Zach.

"He was one of my best friends and made so many people's lives better," Walter continued in his post. "I'll be forever grateful that I was blessed with being able to know him so well. I'm happy knowing he's in Heaven now waiting for us to join him. I love you bro I'm so sorry."

Zach wasn't just an avid hiker and rock climber, but often spent time practicing and teaching flips at local gyms. Aiden Gonzalez, another close friend of Zach's who wasn't on the hike to Devil's Castle, told KSL that he learned a lot from Zach.

"I loved the way Zach would push you out of your comfort zone to help you become the best version of yourself," Aiden wrote in a text message. "He genuinely cared about the path that me and our friends went down and didn't want to see us throw our lives away. You can even see it in the way he teaches flips; he was super picky about every little detail in your technique because he cared about seeing you grow stronger.

"He also inspired me and many others to stay young," he added. "At our age, some people (including me) struggle with the stress of what the future holds for us, leading us to try and grow up quicker because 'What if I'm not ready?' or 'What if I fail?' The truth is, you're never ready and you will fail — this is something that Zach understood that a lot of teens don't understand; even some adults.

Even in the family's grief, they have set up a memorial fund through GoFundMe* with the intention of establishing a scholarship in his name.

"Zach lived every day like there was no tomorrow," Aiden said. "While we we're all scared of being ready or failing, he was scared of wasting his life sitting on the couch, doomscrolling. I will love Zach forever and I hope he inspires you to live everyday to the fullest like how he inspired me."

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into 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 advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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