On June 17th, Yosemite Search and Rescue responded to a request for help from a solo climber on the 15th pitch of Tangerine Trip on El Cap. The initial report came in from the injured climber at 6:00am. He reported that he had lost partial use of both hands and completing the climb was no longer a viable option. The climber had taken a full rest day (24hrs) in hopes that it would resolve the problem, but the issue persisted and he made the decision that assistance was needed. Up to this point, he had been on the wall for seven days.
YOSAR was mobilized at approximately 7:00am to the SAR cache where plans were discussed and gear was organized.
Once in position at the top of ‘the Trip’, a spotter (SAR member) in El Cap meadow assisted the SAR team in establishing a line from the edge down to the climber’s position. Rigging was completed and a rescuer was lowered down to the injured climber to help him secure his equipment in a haul bag and break down his port-a-ledge. After the climber’s injuries were assessed and equipment secured, the climber and rescuer were raised to the top of El Cap.
After the operation was completed to the top, part of the team stayed to extract the rescue gear using the park helicopter via sling load. The remaining team members and the rescued climber walked down to the top of the East Ledges. Due to the nature of the climbers injuries short lowers were employed on a couple steep sections of the descent and a series of assisted lowers were conducted down the East Ledges rappels.
Climbing El Cap solo is obviously far more difficult than climbing in a team. Running into certain issues while alone can immediately halt your progress and leave you stranded. In this case, the injuries to the climbers hands could have led to more serious injuries due to a potential fall while trying to climb out on his own. Careful consideration of different contingency plans while solo climbing is always prudent. Carrying extra food and water for extra rest days could be an option for decreasing fatigue and the potential for certain injuries.
Look how blown out the sky looks in the top photo. This is called Geoengineering and it has been happening all over the Sierras for years. Do you think this is normal? If you’ve spent any amount of time in Yosemite you know that bluebird days never happen.
Research geoengineering and start pointing it out when you see it.