SummitPost.org

Sad day in Yosemite

http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/ ... paign=News

Discussion including accounts of people that were at the base
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum ... e-Recovery

Geez! 2 climbers loose their lives to rockfall this weekend?! Very saddened.

woa he caused a rock slide on El cap. tragic and unique story, and the first climbing death this year in Yosemite. i feel sorry for his partner and friend

This young man is from the Flathead Valley in NW Montana. So sad for his family and friends.

There are three brothers in this family. One brother was killed in a climbing accident in Glacier National Park in 1997 and now a second brother is killed. Sad indeed.

Very sad indeed.
I never did any aid climbing or hauling, but how many use a second climbing rope over a static rope as haul line?

Carbo wrote:Very sad indeed.
I never did any aid climbing or hauling, but how many use a second climbing rope over a static rope as haul line?

Almost nobody. Fact that his haul line was actually connected to a tie in loop in his chest harness is unusual. If he was like huge majority of other wall climbers his body would go all the way to the ground. Most people that I see climbing walls (including myself) tag a line on a loop that would not hold any type of fall.
So far I used an old climbing rope as a haul line, because I have no extra $ to buy a dedicated haul line. And it doesn't matter, because if my climbing rope is cut, that won't help.

I was under the impression most did as you describe. Pretty unlucky to cut your own rope like that

Yes, it is very sad. Too bad but objective danger will always be there when it comes to climbing on rock.

Almost nobody

I have always used a full size climbing rope as haul line. Granted a static line works better for hauling, but if your climbing rope gets damaged you can use the haul line for climbing. But, I agree with you on having the haul line tied into "tie in loop, is unusual. At the same time, I can see that if the fall wasn't so great, the haul line, the way it was attached to the tie-in loop, could have saved his life. I have always attached the haul line to the back loop of the harness with a carabiner. Whatever the reason, it's always sad to lose another climber.

Walking up the Yosemite Falls trail about ten years ago, I ran into a team of three hiking out after finishing El Cap. One of them had lost his partner a few hundred feet from the top. He had joined another team of two to climb up.

Marcsoltan wrote:

Almost nobody

I have always used a full size climbing rope as haul line. Granted a static line works better for hauling, but if your climbing rope gets damaged you can use the haul line for climbing. But, I agree with you on having the haul line tied into "tie in loop, is unusual. At the same time, I can see that if the fall wasn't so great, the haul line, the way it was attached to the tie-in loop, could have saved his life. I have always attached the haul line to the back loop of the harness with a carabiner. Whatever the reason, it's always sad to lose another climber.

Walking up the Yosemite Falls trail about ten years ago, I ran into a team of three hiking out after finishing El Cap. One of them had lost his partner a few hundred feet from the top. He had joined another team of two to climb up.

I was at work and did not form my thoughts very well. Meant to say almost nobody uses a second rope (doesn't matter static vs dynamic) in a way that would save a climber. As I said I use a dynamic rope, and many beginner wall climbers that don't want to dedicate a new rope to pure hauling do too. But I have yet to see anyone use it in their tie in loop (where it would actually catch you if your climbing rope got cut).

From what I read online, it seems like climber would bleed out and die of injuries anyway, even if rope itself did not kill him. Not a fact, but likely outcome. Anyway, it is a sad day and another reason to double check every flake we touch. I know of a guy who pulled a small fridge sized flake on Crystal Crag last year (broke his foot). Almost killed other climbers at the base too. So even well traveled routes have these time bombs. Last week saw a stack of HUGE blocks on 1st pitch of Deimos in Toulumne. I was afraid to even climb by them, but I bet people use them as holds.