El Cap Rescue-- wonder if he paid??

[guest]

Got this off the NPS morning report for friday, december 10th.99-727 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue

On the afternoon of October 27th, park dispatch received a 911 cell
phone call from a climber 2,000 feet up the face of El Capitan. He
reported that his climbing partner had taken a 70-foot leader fall
and was seriously injured. The weather at the time was clear enough
for flying, but the first winter storm warning of the season was in
effect for the upcoming night. Ranger/ medics Keith Lober and Mary
Hinson were able to rappel onto the wall from the park helicopter.
They found that the injured climber was in an altered mental status
and had obvious trauma to his head and left wrist. A support team was
flown to the top of El Capitan, just beating nightfall. The plan was
to fix lines from the top of El Capitan and raise the injured climber
during the night. However, the worsening weather forced the
abandonment of the evacuation. The injured climber was moved to a
conveniently located cave on the cliff. During the night, the storm
hit, bringing heavy rains and gusty winds. The party was able to
spend a reasonably comfortable night, with advanced life support
continuing. The next morning the storm broke and the victim was
packaged in a Stokes litter and short-hauled from the ledge to El
Capitan Meadow. He was taken to a Modesto hospital, where he was
diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and fractured right wrist. [Mary
Hinson, Shift Supervisor, YOSE, 12/8]

[guest]

Since it was clearly an accident,
and what he was doing is legal,
he will probably not have to pay.
FYI:
There was a case earlier this year,
or maybe it was last year,
where some climbers had ventured
to the face of El Cap.
They had gone there ill prepared,
and a weather system developed while
they were climbing.
It was determined that they probably
would perish if left on the cliff.
So the SAR went ahead and rescued the
climbers in very inclimate weather,
and at serious risk to themselves.
It was determined that the climbers
were negligent, and they DID have to
pay for their own rescue, about
thirteen thousand dollars.
Another FYI:
It seems that a climber recently used
a parachute to send his haul bag of El Cap.
It's reported that he's being charged
with illegal aerial delivery.

[imported_Tom Aiello]

Hey,

Climbers have had lots of troubles of their own with the NPS. Generally, these experiences have made the average (a certain YOSAR climber employee aside) climber very sympathetic to BASE jumpers.

Let's not alienate them. They're organized, motivated, and much larger than us. They're also the closest thing to a natural friend we have in NPS territory.

Oh, yeah, and many of us are them, and they are us...

--Tom Aiello

[guest]

I think the same could be said for the hang glider pilots. I had the pleasure of meeting several of them in SFO a few weeks back, and they all seemed very interested in my base endeavors, and sympathetic to our plight in Yosimite. Apparently they are quite restricted by launch site and time of day, allowing them to glide, but making it difficult to soar.

Their group could be another valuable ally we should try not to alienate.

[guest]

I have been climbing for about 30 years. I had a great deal of trouble with the NPS long before I did my first jump. I was pushed, searched, hassled, assaulted and discriminated against many times. So were many of my friends. This discrimination against climbers also extended to the concessionaires in several of the parks with the full support of the rangers. I can assure everyone here that the climbers, kayakers, hang gliders and paragliders are all very much on our side. All we need is a strong leadership and a clearly defined plan for all groups to join on the access issues.

Earl