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splitter
Trad climber
SoCal Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
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May 19, 2013 - 08:50pm PT
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this is really sad. i can only hope it's not who it so obviously seems it is.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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May 19, 2013 - 09:18pm PT
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So sorry to hear about this. Hang in there GDavis you have a lot of friends on here to lean on.
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Daphne
Trad climber
Black Rock City
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May 19, 2013 - 10:04pm PT
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SO much loss. I am praying because that is all I can do. Love and peace to all in our community.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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May 19, 2013 - 10:31pm PT
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Oh man...
There are a lot of loosies on the rock; nearly got taken out myself on Tahquitz.
Peace and condolences to family, friends and YOSAR.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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May 19, 2013 - 10:55pm PT
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Just got back to Reno. Spent the whole morning in the meadow waiting for a friend from Alaska who had pre-arranged to meet there. So I was kinda stuck waiting while all this was happening. Tom Evans, Honnold, Ben the ranger , me, others all witnessing a grim scenario and trying to understand.. trying to figure it as it happened. Werner and George Lowe showed up too. Cheyne stopped by then called in and joined in the rescue/recovery. I'll perhaps post more tomorrow. The scenario as best was understood is previously reported on this thread.
For now my most sincere and inadequate condolences to his partner and family.
Derek
Sad in Reno
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TomKimbrough
Social climber
Salt Lake City
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May 19, 2013 - 10:59pm PT
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Jim, George and Mark,
Glad you guys are OK.
Bummer for all.
TK
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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May 19, 2013 - 11:16pm PT
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My sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
And I am very glad that Jim & crew are all OK!
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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May 19, 2013 - 11:32pm PT
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Heinous.
Condolences to the loved ones. YOSAR earned their keep today.
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westhegimp
Social climber
granada hills
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May 19, 2013 - 11:37pm PT
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Very sad. Condolences to the family and friends. RIP.
Wes
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WBraun
climber
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May 19, 2013 - 11:43pm PT
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It was a bad one.
Just as Elcap pirate and Pete were saying.
I'm too tired to say much at this moment as we've been pulling ropes for hours.
Tom I think will post his photos any minute now.
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Port
Trad climber
San Diego
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May 19, 2013 - 11:49pm PT
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Thank you for what you do Werner.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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May 19, 2013 - 11:49pm PT
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Bad news. Only consolation is that more folks were not taken out by the rocks.
JL
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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May 19, 2013 - 11:54pm PT
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Thank you, Werner...
hard to deal with the loses...
as posted elsewhere, Bev Johnson told me a few days before the helicopter crash:
In our last conversation we were commiserating about losing one of our friends on an Alaskan Peak. Her comment to me as we rang off was, 'Live every day to the fullest, as you never know when it might be your last!'
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james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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May 20, 2013 - 12:20am PT
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I was in El Cap meadow this afternoon with my family and watched the helicopters and rescue personnel. I sat hoping for the best worst case scenario. Thinking that these pros are going to pull the victim from the heights of the Captain and he/she would have a thriller of a story to tell. I asked a tourist if I could use their binoculars to take a closer look up the muir. I found the victim below his/her partner and closed my eyes and laid in the meadow holding my son in my arms thinking of a sons father or a daughters mother. My condolences to family and friends of both the victim and his/her partner.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
climber
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May 20, 2013 - 12:24am PT
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In all my 18 years of photographing ElCap I have never seen such a grisly, terrible scene.
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chappy
Social climber
ventura
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May 20, 2013 - 12:49am PT
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The whole experience was rather humbling. One minute it was a beautiful spring morning with friends on the Captain--Jim, George and myself as well as 4 German climbers. Two were friends of Jim's from previous travels. The five of us shared dinner and a fun evening together the previous night. The other two we had just met that morning. We had all met up at the base of the Nose helping one another and sharing the somewhat cramped real estate. It was all good. Jim had just followed George's lead of the first pitch and I had jumared about half way up the first pitch...then I heard the explosion. I looked up and saw the impact in the gray bands. A large dust cloud. Holy Shit! I knew this was bad--potentially really bad. We were in the impact zone and helpless. I started yelling--everyone started yelling Rock! Rock! There was that moment in time staring up and waiting for the impact. We were helpless--fish in a barrel. As the rock started raining down I was looking up hoping to dodge the worst of it. I briefly thought of how I was the one without a helmet. I realized there was too much coming down and I had to seek shelter. There was none. I covered my head as best I could with my arms and hugged the rock waiting for the impact that would split my head open. Miraculously this never happened. The worst passed just to the east of us. Max (one of the Germans)was worried my jumar rope would be cut. When it cleared we called around--Was anyone hurt!? No. Thank God. I decided immediately to rap and informed Jim and George. I had no idea what caused the rock fall and didn't know if more was on the way. I didn't want to find out. Max and his girl friend joined me and we were soon at the base of Pine Line. I thought I heard yelling from above as I was rapping. Sure enough. Jim and George had heard it too. People were calling for help. As I was on the ground I raced for the road to raise the alarm. I passed a group of people hiking up and asked if they had a cell phone. No. The second group of people I encountered just before the road informed me that the rangers had already been notified and were in El Cap meadow. I dumped my pack at my truck and approached the rangers. I told them what had happened and we tried to locate the distressed climbers. More park service personnel arrived with a spotting scope. The climbers were located in the upper dihedrals of the Muir. Things were starting to make sense. A rock fall there would have hurtled down and impacted exactly where it did. The rock fall wasn't natural. Things were about to get worse--much worse. I could see the climbers haul bags and belay through my binoculars. There was something I missed. A tourist with a very good set of binoculars asked me about the climber hanging there at the end of the rope. What? I asked. Yeah, he's been hanging there a long time. Puzzled I took a second look. OH MY GOD!
Sure enough there was a limp body hanging on a rope a full rope length below their belay. It wasn't a pretty sight. He had to be dead. The full impact of what happened, of what was happening began to settle in. This wasn't going to be a rescue but a body recovery. I also reflected on our own close call. A rescue helicopter arrived. It did a fly by and landed once again in the meadow. A rescue team and gear was being assembled. Tourists and climbers were also gathering. There was a somber mood--especially among the climbers. We had lost one of our own. It could just as easily been any one of us. Climbing accidents happen. People sometimes die climbing but we never think it will ever actually be you or me. If we did we would probably quit climbing. And then it happens. To some one we know, or to someone very close to us--a friend of a friend, or it happens in our presence. It is sobering and gives one pause. The climbing girl who was up on the Muir just a day or two before said it best... and I am paraphrasing here--I wish I could remember her exact words as they seemed so poignant, so perfect: Climbing seems like the best thing in the world and then something like this happens and we wonder why we do it at all.
Hopefully, in the wondering, in the sobering pause we can all reach a deeper understanding and appreciation of life, of friendship, of love, of those things really important and meaningful to us all. My condolences to all who knew and cared for this fallen member of our greater community.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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May 20, 2013 - 12:55am PT
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terrible news.
rock fall on that scale, from high on the muir, could've taken out even more folks. hope it's stable now and isn't a new active zone. we've been spoiled by the relative stability of el cap.
condolences to all the friends and family--
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10b4me
Ice climber
Soon 2B Arizona
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May 20, 2013 - 12:55am PT
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Thanks Mark that iS a hell of a thing to be a part of, let alone witness
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Gagner
climber
Boulder
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May 20, 2013 - 12:57am PT
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Whoa - terrible. Glad you are okay Mark, as well as the others below. A sad sad day .... condolences...
Paul
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elAndy
Trad climber
El Portal, CA
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May 20, 2013 - 12:58am PT
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My heart goes out to the deceased tonight and their grieving family. A sad day for the climbing community. Another reminder that every day lived is a day worth cherishing and that every moment needs to be appreciated. Sad day.
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