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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Oct 20, 2004 - 08:29pm PT
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Just saw Dave Turner on the evening news. He got rescued and looks fine. (in that totally worked, just got spanked, kinda way)
The news said the Japanese guys didn't make it.
Pain, Pain, Pain and the forcast calls for more suffering. Josh, Moab, everyplace is getting wet.
My best wishes and hopes for those having their epics.
Peace
karl
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Demented
climber
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Oct 20, 2004 - 08:50pm PT
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almost 20 years ago to the day when the infamous Japanese party of two got caught and frozen on the Nose summit headwall
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highminded
Mountain climber
Berkeley
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Oct 20, 2004 - 08:54pm PT
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...just heard an update. YOSAR is still working on rescuing 2 more (live) climbers (the third is down -- sounds like that might have been Dave). They are fighting some serious winds and coming night-fall.
On top of that, the park service has their hands full with fallen trees, mud/rock slides and tourons wrecking their cars on the icy roads.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Oct 20, 2004 - 09:09pm PT
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The two folks getting rescued tomorrow are reportedly on Never, Never land.
Props and gratitude to the SAR and the NPS folks risking their necks and freezing their asses to help our climber homies!
peace
Karl
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Oct 20, 2004 - 09:39pm PT
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Major props to YOSAR. I can imagine their efforts have been heroic in these conditions.
Anyone know if Matt (Lambone) headed up NA on 10/15 like he has planned?
Any thoughts as to who was on Never Never Land?
Ed
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highminded
Mountain climber
Berkeley
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Oct 20, 2004 - 09:59pm PT
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Yep, I heard a rescue team left yesterday to try to help the El Cap climbers. They headed out in 50 MPH winds, 3-ft. deep snow and intermittent white-out conditions, for that 11 mile hike up to the top.
Not my idea of fun. They've got my total respect.
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willingh
Social climber
Los Angeles, California
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Oct 20, 2004 - 10:03pm PT
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hi there. Does anyone have any info on the Japanese climbers? were they very experienced?
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funkness
climber
So,Ca.
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Oct 20, 2004 - 10:51pm PT
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"Props and gratitude to the SAR and the NPS folks risking their necks and freezing their asses to help our climber homies!"
Absolutely!!!!!
And good luck to whoever's still out/up there.
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 20, 2004 - 10:54pm PT
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Wed Oct 20 Just a breif update........
Yosar and 30 load bearers left at 4:00am to the top at aprox 1 mile per hour rate due to inclimate conditions. Dave was given a rope to jug at tempest. Japanese most likely died yesterday due to hyperthermia and extreme exposure. They are still on the wall. Tommorow Yosar will retreve the japanese. Yosar is now bivied at the top. Two more parties are on El Cap as of now. Link and two Yosar team members left Tues afternoon to flag the trail from Tamrack Flat to El Cap. This is their second night out. Lots of questions are being asked, wait till everyone is back and Link or someone else will give a full report.
Best wishes, Werner
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tokyo bill
Trad climber
tokyo
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Oct 21, 2004 - 12:11am PT
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Anyone have names yet on the Japanese?
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Oct 21, 2004 - 12:26am PT
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Greetings from El Cap Meadows, where I spent most of the afternoon along with all the news crews and TV cameras. I'm afraid I can't add much more than what you read above.
Dave Turner was rescued from the penultimate belay of Tempest, a route which he had been soloing for something in the order of 18 days! It has been raining here since it began early Saturday morning. The heli jocks told me Dave was fine, though his hands were cool. He was plucked off sometime this afternoon.
Two Japanese climbers are believed to have perished just above Camp 6 of The Nose. I was told today that a friend of their's communicated with them from the Meadows yesterday via bullhorn, but rescuers were unable to reach them yesterday because of the bad flying weather. Today the skies cleared - a beautiful day to be alive if you happen to be as fortunate as me. The Japanese did not respond to calls, and could be seen entangled amongst their gear. It's pretty grim.
Eric Ericson and Tommy Thompson look to be OK up on Octopussy, which is close to Never Never Land. They were drying their sleeping bags out in the late afternoon sun. The rescuers told me that one team declined rescue, and that the other team wanted one. Not sure which is which - the other team was below The Roof on Salathe Wall, about a pitch above The Block.
Apart from them, I didn't see anyone else up there. Ivo Ninov, Jason Pickles and Leo Houlding bailed from their attempted free route starting in the Eagle's Way area, the same time as I bailed from my attempted solo of Born Under A Bad Sign. My gear is about 350' up the wall sitting under a waterfall. It's supposed to be dry tomorrow, so I reckon I'll have to pretend I'm caving, duct-tape the sleeves of my raincoat shut, and shut up and jug.
Wish me luck. More news when I get it.
Prayers and condolences to the family and friends of the dead climbers.
In sadness,
Pete
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Oct 21, 2004 - 01:08am PT
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Thanks for the update.
I've heard the block is one of the worst places on El Cap to be in the rain.
Seems like everything came a month early this year. Falls went dry a month early, Fall was early, Rain was early, and so on.
Peace
karl
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poop*ghost
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Oct 21, 2004 - 02:21am PT
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I have a pretty good idea that I met the japanese climbers at the cookie. I don't recall the names - they were in a group of about 6.
I'm so saddened by the idea that the happy and friendly people that I was struggling to communicate with...
oh man, what a horrible mess.
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susan peplow
climber
area 29
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Oct 21, 2004 - 03:07am PT
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All this seems so familar. Those fall storms bring epic and death to those on the big stone. It's absolutely awful, and as climbers....something that none of us want to experience.
View the link for a blast from the past article from of a September, 1991 storm and subsequent rescue.
http://www.fishproducts.com/topos/nativeTR/latimes.pdf
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nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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Oct 21, 2004 - 11:13am PT
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I'm very sad to hear this news. Thank you all for the updates.
I noted that in that LA times article Eric Ericson was rescued with Fish. No wonder he refused the rescue off of octopussy! I hear they double your bill the second time around.
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Southern Man
climber
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Oct 21, 2004 - 11:49am PT
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I doubt they'll be charged for this one.
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Demented
climber
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Oct 21, 2004 - 11:50am PT
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I would be willing to bet Eric has far better foul weather gear this time around
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10b4me
Trad climber
Where Fair Oaks meets Altadena
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Oct 21, 2004 - 01:14pm PT
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any word on Lambone?
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 21, 2004 - 01:33pm PT
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If there are two parties up there right now, and one is definately not Lambone, and the other is a party on the Salathe (and I think that he's soloing), he's probably OK.
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