Christian Badcock, 23, thought to be from Northumberland, died on Sunday afternoon at the Red Rock Canyon national conservation area, west of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mr Badcock, who had spent nine weeks climbing in the US, was attempting to scale an area of the Calico basin with another man when he fell.
A police rescue team recovered him from the bottom of the canyon and he was airlifted to hospital.
He died of extensive injuries on the way to the University Medical Centre in Las Vegas.
Sergeant Clint Bassett, the search and rescue coordinator for Las Vegas police, suggested Mr Badcock might have unclipped a safety rope. "He had paired up with another climber from Alaska and led the climb. When he got on the top he called down that he had finished.
"His partner was set to follow him and turned around to get ready to make his climb when he [Mr Badcock] just fell.
"He may have unclipped his rope, which he never should have done as he was waiting for his partner to climb up."
The accident happened at around 3pm on Sunday during clear, sunny weather that was favourable for climbing.
Mr Badcock had been staying at a nearby camp with English and Irish friends, none of whom was with him when he died.
The group had spent two weeks climbing at Yosemite national park in California before beginning their stay in Nevada.
Inquiries into the tragedy are continuing, but the death is not being treated as suspicious.
The Red Rock Canyon national conservation area covers 80,000 hectares (197,000 acres) within the Mojave desert. It is one of the most popular autumn and spring climbing areas in the US. Mr Badcock is the second person to die while climbing at the canyon in the past year.
