UKC

It's a pity that the BBC, in reporting the tragic death of a Welsh climber from the rockfall on El Cap, is so sloppy with its facts. It has a picture of Dawn Wall (implying that they were intending to climb or were even climbing that), when I believe the rockfall was a long way to the east. It also claims that El Capitan is 'the world's largest granite monolith' – when surely there are many larger? It all depends what is meant by a monolith but, off the top of my head, I believe the actual rock peak of Cerro Torre is at least 4000 ft high, and Fitzroy well over 6000'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41436218

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Likely they lifted that description from YPS. In the US "World" == "Continental US".

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

The monolith continues several thousand feet below ground

In reply to La benya:

Don't most of them do that?

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Interesting, a quick google and look at Encyclopedia Britannica suggests Mount Augustus* as the largest and Uluru/Ayers Rock as being the second largest in the world.

I'm intrigued too by what defines 'largest'.

*Apparently not technically a monolith as it's a monocline formed by faulting and subsequent folding.

In reply to GarethSL:

Not sure the Encyclopedia Britannica is the most reliable source for this kind of stuff. I would expect Mrs. num num to have more expertise on large, mostly buried, monoliths

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


I'm sure they said El Cap was 'twenty-five hundred metres' high on R4 this morning, so on that basis they might be right!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

The term 'monolith' is deliberately vague and subjective! literally just means "single rock"... el cap is the largest (in terms of surface area) sheer granite rockface I believe. it may also be the highest (in terms of length, not altitude) sheer cliff face.

In reply to drolex:


https://media.tenor.com/images/93ca987184e91da4d39b0e45da7cff17/tenor.gif

In reply to pneame:

Perhaps originally, but on this occasion they've lifted bits from their own archive:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30824372

In reply to Webster:

I also completely missed that it's the largest Granite monolith. Which it likely is. The Patagonian monoliths do pop up in lists of the largest but I'm still uncertain as to the specific criteria.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Time difference seems to be wrong as well; currently eight hours, not seven.

In reply to GarethSL:

I read somewhere that El Cap was the largest exposed rock in the world which it may well be.

In reply to GarethSL:

Patagonia is largely (at least most of the famous peaks are) granite too though. Fitzroy, Cerro Torre, Torre Egger, Torres del Paine, Cerro Escudo, Cerro Fortaleza - all granite. Pretty sure they're mostly all taller than El Cap too.
They're not broader though, presumably 'biggest' needs to be some averaged measure of the two, a volume of rock. Then again aren't things like Great Sail Peak, Polar Sun Spire, Mt Asgard and Walker Citadel both much taller than El Cap and pretty broad too? Then there's Pakistan?

In reply to Tom Last:

Rupal face?

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Maybe it's just me, but I feel sad that someone has died and it seems we are more bothered about correcting the BBC than about the death.

In reply to marsbar:

Well said.

Desperately sad situation.

In reply to marsbar:

Hance a separate thread I assume.

Anyway, it could be worse, the supertopo equivalent thread briefly descended into arguments about copyright law...

In reply to deepsoup:



I stand corrected - what I've always wondered, though, is how do they get the rope to the top in the first place and why don't they go up the back where it's easier?

A truly fine piece of writing...

In reply to pneame:


Obviously you're making a joke, but in that particular case the second question is the answer to the first!

In reply to Michael Gordon:

Er, yes... not thinking...

In reply to Trangia:

Dreadful, just dreadful.
Condolences to all concerned.

In reply to marsbar:


You beat me to it.