Brad Gobright, 31, fell around 300 meters (1,000 ft) to his death in El Portero Chico in northern Mexico.
His companion, fellow climber Aidan Jacobson, 26, fell a shorter distance and survived with injuries.
Gobright was best known for free soloing, or climbing without any safety gear, but at the time the two were rappelling, a technique using ropes.
Climbers descend a rock face by using a doubled rope coiled around the body but the method is described by experts as one of the most common causes of deaths in the sport.
