Dordt Student Dies In Climbing Accident

A Dordt College student and stand-out on the basketball team died in a climbing accident at the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Wednesday, July 21. He was 21 years old.

Brandon Oldenkamp would have been a senior this fall at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.

"The loss of a vigorous young man in the midst of a joy-filled excursion is a tragedy that stuns our whole campus," said Carl E. Zylstra, president of Dordt college. "Brandon was an integral part of our campus, whether in the classroom, on the basketball court, or as part of our summer maintenance team."

According to published reports, Oldenkamp was in one of three climbing groups above 13,000 feet on the Grand Teton mountain when a thunderstorm hit the area Wednesday. Oldenkamp was reported to have gone over a cliff during the storm, and his party lost sight of him.

Sixteen climbers were rescued from an exposed mountainside late Wednesday. According to a park spokeswoman, all of the climbers suffered injuries from lightning, including burns and neurological effects.

The search for Oldenkamp resumed Thursday, and his body was found shortly before noon local time.

Oldenkamp was a native of Sanborn, Iowa, majoring in accounting. He was a member of the Dordt College basketball program and a two-time Great Plains Athletic Conference honorable mention honoree.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Brandon’s family and friends,” said Ross Douma, Dordt College’s basketball coach “Brandon was a great teammate who sacrificed much for our team. He was an exemplary young Christian man who did his best in everything he engaged in. We will certainly miss his presence, both in the basketball program and in the campus community.”

Oldenkamp was a 2007 graduate of Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa.

"Our hearts are torn," said Zylstra, "but our spirits have the hope of the living Lord, to whose honor our campus is dedicated and whose kingdom not even death can destroy."