Daring Rescue On El Capitan
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Yosemite - El Capitan
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Yosemite National Park, CA - Yosemite National Park reports crews pulled off a daring high angle, high risk rescue in blizzard conditions on El Capitan, in Yosemite Valley, on Monday, October 22, 2012.
Rangers say a 40-year old man from British Columbia, Canada, was forced to spend the night approximately 230 feet below the summit in a hanging tent on Sunday due to bad weather and a stuck climbing rope. They say when he tried to open a rainfly to shelter him from the storm he slipped and fell nearly 15 feet down the side of the rock. Rangers say he was able to get back into the hanging tent. However, during the night between four and six inches of snow fell with temperatures in the mid-twenties exposing the man to possible hypothermia.
Rangers say they were not able to use a helicopter in the rescue due to the bad weather, and instead sent a crew by foot. They say it was slow going as the crew faced snow, wind, and ice to finally reach the summit on Monday around 4p.m. They then lowered a ranger down the face of the rock to the climber who was suffering from exhaustion and mild hypothermia. Rangers say the rescue crew used a mechanical advantage system of pulleys and the team was then able to hoist the climber to the summit.
The climber was taken to a local hospital and is in good condition.
Rangers say the summit of El Capitan is 7,569 feet above sea level, is the largest granite monolith in the world and attracts rock climbers from across the globe.
Written by Tracey Petersen
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