Zabrok said he and friends were in the middle of a six-day climb of the Waterfall route on the right side of El Capitan when they saw it. "It cratered and sent stuff mushrooming out in all directions," said Yager. Ken Yager, president and founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association, reviewed photos of the cliff face and debris field, estimating the relatively thin piece that broke off covered an area big enough to fit five houses. Rockfalls are common in Yosemite but seldom fatal. Fall is one of the peak seasons because the days are long and the weather is warm. Mountaineers from around the world travel to Yosemite to scale El Capitan's sheer face. The rock appeared to fall from the popular "Waterfall Route" on the East Buttress of El Capitan, said Yosemite National Park ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman. All other people in the area have been accounted for and search efforts have been concluded. The National Park Service is working with the Consulate to notify family members. The male was found deceased and the female was flown out of the park with serious injuries. The victims, a couple visiting the park from Great Britain, were in the park to rock climb but were not climbing at the time of the initial rockfall. Two people were found, resulting in one fatality and a serious injury. The National Park Service also released more information on the individual killed in the rockfall, identifying him as a male climber from Great Britain who wasn't climbing at the time:Īfter the initial rockfall, Yosemite National Park Rangers and the Search and Rescue team entered the area looking for people at the base of the rockfall. (National Park Service)Īt least 30 climbers were on the vertical wall of the 7,569-foot (2,307 meter) formation when the massive rock fell Wednesday afternoon. For size context, climbing equipment can be seen at the top of the image, near the tiny purple dot. The East Buttress of El Capitan, with the estimated size of the largest rockfall drawn in. The source point is about 650 feet above the base of El Capitan, or about 1,800 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley (which is at 4,000 feet in elevation). The irregular "sheet" of rock that fell is estimated to be 130 feet tall, 65 feet wide, and 3-10 feet thick. For more information on current conditions, you can visit this website."I saw a piece of rock, white granite the size of an apartment building, at least 100 feet (30 meters) by 100 feet (30 meters), suddenly just come peeling off the wall with no warning," said Canadian climber Peter Zabrok, 57, who was scaling El Capitan and was above the rockfall.Īccording to details released by the National Park Service in a press release on Thursday, the massive slab fell as seven rockfalls occurred over a four-hour time span:Ī preliminary estimate for the cumulative volume of all seven rockfalls is about 16,000 cubic feet (450 cubic meters), or about 1,300 tons. According to Sierra News, Northside Drive was closed for 24 hours as a precaution, but planned to reopen if no additional rockfalls occurred during that time. That includes the area from approximately El Capitan picnic area to El Capitan Crossover, on the north side of the Merced River. According to Twitter user James Piper, who uploaded one of the rockfall videos shared to social media, nobody was hurt.Īccording to the National Park Service website, some roads and areas are currently closed due to the rockslide. The rockfall left visitors startled, especially because of the incredibly loud noise. Yosemite National Park officials said that the rockfall originated from Horsetail Fall (famous for the rare "firefall" phenomenon on display this month), which is located off the side of El Capitan. The iconic granite rock formation is one of the park's main attractions, and it stands more than 3,000 feet high.Īpparently, there is one waterfall to blame. On Monday, video recordings from visitors to Yosemite National Park showed a massive rockfall hitting and crashing the side of El Capitan. Visiting national parks is a great way to connect with nature, but you sure need to be careful where you walk.
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