Andrew “Andy” Lewis, the Moab slackliner and BASE jumper known as “Sketchy Andy,” was one of two men killed Sunday in a tandem BASE jumping incident in the remote Mineral Bottom area of Grand County. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said its dispatch was notified on June 14 and that deputies, search and rescue crews, county EMS and two Intermountain helicopters responded.
Sheriff’s officials identified Lewis in a press release and said he was 39. Sheriff Jamison Wiggins confirmed Lewis was the owner and operator of BASE Jump Moab, a company that had run commercial tandem BASE-jumping operations in the area since 2018. The second man, described as about 50 years old, also died at the scene and had not been identified.
Lewis was a well-known figure in Moab long before the fatal jump. He helped popularize tricklining in the mid-2000s, set a Guinness World Record in 2011 for the most side surfs on a slackline in one minute, and performed during Madonna’s Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012. His blend of athletic skill and showmanship made him one of the most recognizable names in the sport.
The sheriff’s office said the two men died during a tandem BASE jump, in which a passenger is harnessed to an experienced jumper and the pair descends together on one parachute. It has not said whether the jump was a commercial outing, leaving a central question unanswered even as officials confirmed the deaths. That distinction matters because BASE Jump Moab was one of a small number of outfits offering commercial tandem jumps under Bureau of Land Management authorization in Grand County.
Moab’s red-rock cliffs, including the Mineral Bottom area, have long drawn BASE jumpers from around the world. The sheriff’s office extended its deepest sympathies to the families, friends and others affected by what it called a tragic incident. For now, the most important unanswered piece is whether Sunday’s fatal tandem jump was part of a paid operation, and authorities have not yet identified the second man who died.
