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Climber killed in massive rock fall off Yosemite's El Capitan was British Climber killed in massive rockfall on Yosemite's El Capitan was British
(about 2 hours later)
The climber who was killed when a massive hunk of rock fell off the El Capitan monolith in Yosemite national park was British, a park ranger said on Thursday. The climber who was crushed to death by a massive rockfall in California’s Yosemite national park was British, officials have said.
Yosemite ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman said the man was with a British woman who was seriously injured. The Britons were not being identified in public until their relatives had been notified, Gediman said. The Welsh holidaymaker was with his partner, a British woman, when more than 1,000 tonnes of rock fell on them from the face of the El Capitan monolith, the US National Park Service announced on Thursday.
The two were at the park to climb El Capitan when the rock weighing about 1,300 tons (1,100 metric tons) fell, Gediman said, adding that the two were hiking at the bottom of the vertical face and on their way to scale it when the rock fell. Rescuers found no other victims. The woman remains in a critical condition after being airlifted from the collapse at around 1.50pm on Wednesday, Yosemite park ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman said. The Britons were not being identified in public until their relatives had been notified, Gediman said.
At least 30 climbers were on the vertical wall of the 7,569ft (2,307m) El Capitan when the huge piece of rock fell off. Gediman said the rock appeared to fall from the popular Waterfall Route on the east buttress of El Capitan. The pair, found with climbing equipment, are believed to have been scouting out the ascent of El Capitan from a trail when a “sheet” of granite around 40 metres by 20 metres plummeted from a height of 200 metres.
A Canadian climber, Peter Zabrok, said he saw a piece white granite the size of an apartment building suddenly peel off the wall. “With all the craziness, I don’t exactly know where they were going, but chances are they were going up,” Gediman said. “From what I understand they were buried under rock … They were crushed by falling rocks.”
Images showed a woman being carried into a helicopter by two rescue workers. At least 30 climbers were on the vertical wall of the 7,569ft (2,307m) El Capitan when the huge piece of rock fell off. Gediman said the rock appeared to fall from the popular Waterfall route on the east buttress of El Capitan.
The massive rockfall was among seven that happened in the same general area in a four-hour period on Wednesday. The park records about 80 rock falls per year, though they are rarely fatal. The two Britons are the only known casualties despite being with a group of other climbers when the series of collapses struck, but a search is ongoing.
A climbing guide who has helped people get to the top of El Capitan for 12 years said the fall was the biggest he has ever seen at the site. A Canadian climber, Peter Zabrok, said he saw a piece white granite the size of an apartment building suddenly peel off the mountain face. Images showed a woman being carried into a helicopter by two rescue workers.
John DeGrazio of YExplore Yosemite Adventures said he had reached the summit with a group of climbers when they saw large plumes of dust rising up the vertical wall of El Capitan. The massive rockfall was among seven that happened in the same general area in a four-hour period on Wednesday. The park records about 80 rockfalls per year, though they are rarely fatal. This is the first death from a rockfall in the park in 18 years, according to the parks service.
DeGrazio said the rock fall was “more significant than anything I’ve seen before”. Climbers are aware of the risks of the sport, he said, and that granite erosion takes place on El Capitan and in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are in contact with the local authorities and providing assistance to both families at this very difficult time.”
El Capitan climbers have been lucky that many rock slides have not killed people, DeGrazio said.