Grieving friends are still trying to piece together what happened on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, where University of Colorado graduate Tyler Gordon fell to his death in a climbing accident this week.

Gordon, 21, was climbing a route known as The Nose at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday when he decided to rappel down to retrieve some dropped gear, according to Tom Evans, who writes daily online updates from El Capitan.

Gordon’s climbing partners told Evans that Gordon leaned back and fell about 200 feet before landing on a ledge. They said they believe Gordon failed to clip his belay device to the rope or fell before attaching himself.

The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday morning that it had completed an autopsy for Gordon. His death was ruled an accident, said assistant coroner Andrea Stewart.

National park officials did not return phone calls Friday.

Gordon graduated from CU in May 2014 and had spent the last year traveling around Europe and the United States climbing.

Friends were “dumbfounded” by the accident and devastated at the loss of Gordon, whom they described as loyal, intelligent, caring and intensely focused.

“It just doesn’t seem like him at all,” said Kevin Ziechmann, who met Gordon about three years ago through climbing. “To get to where they got to on the climb, you really can’t be making a ton of mistakes, and he was always very, very safe and very thorough when we were climbing. So it’s really kind of surreal. We’re a little dumfounded.”

Gordon studied applied mathematics at CU, finishing a difficult undergraduate degree in three years. He had planned to attend graduate school at the University of British Columbia in the fall, friends said.

His intelligence extended beyond schoolwork, said former roommate Jordan Schaefer. He said Gordon challenged everyone around him to consider alternate points of view or to look deeper into issues.

Schaefer and Gordon took a monthlong road trip last summer with friends and frequently listened to podcasts along the way. Schaefer remembers how genuine their conversations were.

“To me, I felt like he always had something deeper to say than what any of us had ever come up with,” he said. “It was so cool because so many friends don’t actually challenge your ideas.”

Schaefer and other friends described Gordon as a mentor, first in climbing, but also in life.

Childhood friend Sarah Zemach said she learned nearly everything she knows about climbing from Gordon, the same kid she made mudpies with on family river trips growing up.

“I’ve heard from many of Tyler’s friends that we all looked up to him as a mentor in climbing and as a mentor in how to approach life,” she said. “He saw life as being pretty straightforward. I remember him saying, ‘Life is simple,’ and it was very clear to him what was important and what was petty and unimportant.”

Though he started off with mudpies, Gordon also had a penchant for baking elaborate birthday cakes, French pastries, tarts, cinnamon rolls and everything in between. He also loved to ski in the backcountry and was extremely close with family members.

“It overlaps with his personality as a whole,” said Eddie Marovich. “Being able to bake and provide something delicious for all of his friends and family. It speaks to his character of wanting to make other people enjoy themselves.

“He was an amazing person to have in your life.”

Sarah Kuta: 303-473-1106, kutas@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/sarahkuta