UKC

Big wall climbing can get you killed in more ways than one.

A sobering tale of the deaths of two Japanese climbers, Ryoichi and Mariko on El Cap's Nose Route.

Read and learn more at: http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
Any chance we can have these sort of articles NOT posted as "news". This happened in 2004 - it's a worthwhile and interesting article and good to publicise, but I read the title and thought you were reporting a current event, not something I read years ago.
If only for people with mates out there, you can save them a heart stopping moment...

In reply to rc:

It is a new in-depth analysis written by Friends of YOSAR and is very useful information for anyone planning doing a big wall.

I should have put the date and will now update.

Thanks,

Mick

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

News or not, it's quite a fascinating and slightly harrowing study. Reminds me a bit of the White Spider in places.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Not news but definitely worth retelling.

Several years ago in a May of bad weather, I was setting out to start the Triple Direct on El Cap, Clear blue skies as we walked in from El Cap meadow to the base. By the time we had got there a storm had arrived from around the West Face.

We sacked it and took the gear back to the van and walked back in to the base.

We returned to the bottom of the Salathe wall and Nose The Salathe was a frigid waterfall and parties were bailing from the Nose and Stoveleg Cracks. Most dressed in normal crag wear (understandably), verging on hypothermic, it was snowing heavily just 400' up.

Having seen that, I decided always to go onto the long routes on the walls with a ledge, canopy, foul weather gear - the works! I think you just have to experience the bad stuff once to fully appreciate just how grim it can get.

It's not all blue skies, and when it gets bad it can be very bad.

Regards,

Steve

In reply to SteveSBlake: Scary stuff. Made me feel very mortal. Going fast and light on big walls, sounds a silly idea unless the forcasts perfect and you know what you're doing.

I remember reading about Andy Parkin survieing a 5 day storm in Yosemite, reckoning that using Buffalo gear (and sleeping bags) was the only reason that they are still alive.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

That was Andy Perkins. I think people did die of hypothermia in that storm, and Andy did say that he and his partner would have almost certainly joined them but for the buffalo.

In reply to Removed User: Plus Andy's partner was Odd Roar Wikk and if you have seen his routes is clearly as hard as Andy, and coming from lofoten is also probably genitically waterproof!