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Llewelyn Moss
Big Wall climber
LZ Loon
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 17, 2017 - 08:56am PT
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All –
Beware. On 9/16/17 we intended to climb the West Face of El Cap and discovered that the area has been completely obliterated by rockfall. The gully has been wiped out completely. The climber’s bivy has filled in with 2’ of fresh talus. It is unrecognizable. There are huge craters in the ground and the surrounding walls in the gully have been hit hard by huge rock. Many of the trees in the gully have simply disappeared. White dust covers everything. This was huge.
After climbing a very dusty, rock-impacted first pitch of the West Face (and getting a bird’s eye view of the destruction) we made a decision to get out of there. Rockfall barely missed the West Face P1 bolt anchor. We climbed KP Pinnacle and then walked over to Ribbon Falls where we were able to get a better vantage point of the source area.
It appears that a massive section of wall immediately above the end of the West Face’s Thanksgiving Ledge Traverse has fallen off. There is a huge white impact scar right on Thanksgiving, on the part of the easy traverse where there may not be much gear. The source area is very high on the wall. Rockfall fanned far up the gully, past Beyer’s route, all the way down to Mirage. We even saw evidence of the rockfall on the west side of KP Pinnacle!! Yowza. The rock fall scar and path of destruction are visible without binoculars from Ribbon Falls.
Please be careful!!!
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zip
Trad climber
pacific beach, ca
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Sep 17, 2017 - 09:01am PT
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DAAAMMMN!
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Sep 17, 2017 - 09:14am PT
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Damn. Makes me think of rolling dice.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Sep 17, 2017 - 09:19am PT
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Yikes! Hope no one was hurt.
I hope Greg Stock sees this and chimes in after he has a look see.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Sep 17, 2017 - 11:20am PT
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Place is falling apart . . . glad no one was in the way.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 17, 2017 - 12:17pm PT
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Thanks for such a complete report.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Sep 17, 2017 - 03:17pm PT
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Just wear your magic helmet, you will be fine.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Sep 17, 2017 - 06:05pm PT
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Thanks for the report, get any pics of either the base area or the fresh scar area above Thanksgiving?
Must have been creepy making your way up the gulley through the rubble, good call on bailing!
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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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Sep 17, 2017 - 06:22pm PT
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Any news about a recent rockfall on Waterfall route?
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tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Sep 17, 2017 - 08:06pm PT
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Who says geologic time is slow?
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Sep 17, 2017 - 08:14pm PT
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Damn it, people! I've only done two Grade VI's--The NWF of Half Dome and the West Face of El Cap, and you had to go and ruin both of them. Knock it off. Actually, I spent the night on that pitch 11 ledge that fell of HD. Freakin' spooky. As with this rock fall, it's amazing that no one was at the base. Climbers be having some luck with these two rock falls.
BAd
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Sep 17, 2017 - 08:48pm PT
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BAD, how do you deal with such guilt?
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 17, 2017 - 09:55pm PT
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Sh!t is supposed to fall off.
It means it is still alive.
If it was dead it would be Disney Land ......
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Sep 17, 2017 - 10:04pm PT
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hey there, say... Llewelyn Moss...
thank you for the warning, for all the folks here...
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EdBannister
Mountain climber
13,000 feet
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Sep 18, 2017 - 12:16am PT
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Mr. Braun says it well.
besides,
for the things to be exfoliation domes....
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Sep 18, 2017 - 06:55am PT
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Hah, Jim, good point, although certainly many hundreds have done the climbs since I did them. Still, I can now say, "Well, when I did that climb, it was much different, far more aesthetic, better in every way. Too bad about that rockfall that changed it forever...." Gotta work on my old guy, snide commentary. The Smoking Duck has turned it into an art form.
BAd
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Mr_T
Trad climber
Northern California
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Sep 18, 2017 - 10:30am PT
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That's a huge bummer. I'd done the first 2/3 of the route only to get blasted off by a storm. Never got a chance to go back...
Any photos of the base area?
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elle_no
climber
Bay Area, CA
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Sep 18, 2017 - 12:50pm PT
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Is there any more info on this? I can't find anything about anywhere online.
VERY glad to hear no one was hurt, let alone killed!
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Crazy Bat
Sport climber
Birmingham, AL & Seweanee, TN
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Sep 19, 2017 - 06:48am PT
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I guess we will have to wait for a post about pass the petons pete getting stuck on the wall again to find out more about this rockfall.
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rwedgee
Ice climber
CA
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Sep 19, 2017 - 08:19am PT
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Nobody on this forum climbs anymore
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