2 Climbers Found Dead on El Capitan

2 Climbers Found Dead on El Capitan Ranger says victims were ill-equipped for wintry storm. Eight Sierra hikers are missing. From LA Times Staff and Wire Reports October 21, 2004 Two mountain climbers were found dangling lifeless on the side of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Wednesday after snowstorms stranded hikers throughout the Central Sierra. The climbers were spotted Tuesday by Yosemite rangers but could not be reached because of driving wind and snow brought by a storm from the Gulf of Alaska that swooped across much of California over the weekend. A helicopter crew took off Wednesday as the storm began to clear and spotted the climbers about two-thirds of the way up the 3,200-foot face, Park Ranger Deb Schweizer said. "They were not equipped for a winter storm," she said. The bodies of the man and woman, who were from Japan and whose names weren't released, were expected to be retrieved today. They were among seven people on the famous climbing wall when the brunt of the storm hit Tuesday, Schweizer said. A solo climber was helped down Wednesday, and rangers who reached another man and woman planned to remain with them throughout the night before hiking down today, she said. Two other climbers just asked for extra supplies and continued their climb. Elsewhere in the Sierra on Wednesday, rescuers pummeled by heavy snow and strong winds struggled to find eight stranded backpackers in two groups who were caught off-guard by the fierce storm. ****************************************************************** Rangers Begin Dramatic Rescue on Yosemite Cliff; 2 Climbers Killed Eight hikers are found after unexpectedly fierce blizzard sweeps through Sierras. By Associated Press YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Rangers attempted a dramatic helicopter rescue Thursday of two climbers on a snowy mountain and struggled to remove the ice-encrusted bodies of two Japanese hikers after an unexpected early blizzard swept through the Sierras. The deaths occurred on El Capitan, a 3,200-foot granite mountain at Yosemite National Park, following a fierce blizzard that stranded nearly two dozen hikers and climbers across Northern California. Other than the two deaths, all of them were found or rescued. A half-mile high and a mile wide, El Capitan casts an imposing shadow over the glacier-sculpted Yosemite Valley. The first successful ascent took 45 days, but today most climbers need three or four days to make it to the top -- clinging to barely visible outcroppings and prying their way up cracks invisible from the valley floor. Springtime, when the days are long and the weather is often perfect for weeks at a time, is the best time to attempt an ascent. By June, the wall can be an inferno due to high temperatures. By September, the days are too short and the nights can be chilly. By October, there's always the risk of an early snowfall. This time, it was a blizzard, with deadly white-out conditions -- snow so thick that even helicopters couldn't approach the mountain until the storm finally began to break. Earlier Thursday, four other hikers were rescued from Yosemite's Ansel Adams Wilderness. All are experienced backpackers who had camped in snow previously and were prepared for bad weather.

Following is the rescue report from Yosemite NP. Condolencenses to the two climbers from Japan and salute to the 100 or so recuers. Al ----- Storm Rescues and Fatalities Tuesday, October 26, 2004 Yosemite National Park (CA) During the first major storm of the season on Tuesday, October 19th, rangers and search and rescue teams began a full-scale effort to rescue seven climbers on four different routes on El Capitan, located at the west end of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Search and Rescue team members surveyed the climbing routes on El Capitan after the first wave of the storm passed and saw two climbers from Japan on "The Nose" who were without a porta-ledge and were not moving (a porta-ledge is a tent-like storm shelter that climbers carry on long climbs and can be hung from the cliff). Weather conditions initially made use of the park helicopter impossible. The rescue team hiked over 11 miles in driving snow, extreme wind, and poor visibility, then conducted a technical rescue to get down to the stranded climbers. A break in the weather on Wednesday made it possible to fly to the site by helicopter. The helicopter flew very close to the two Japanese climbers on "The Nose," a difficult but popular route that stretches from the Yosemite Valley floor to the summit of El Capitan, and rangers on board could tell that both were deceased. Rescuers then diverted their attentions to other parties on El Capitan. David Turner was solo climbing and had been on the rock for 17 days. He had almost reached the top of his climb when he realized that he needed assistance. Turner was taken to the summit, then transported by helicopter to El Capitan Meadow on Wednesday. They next focused on two climbing teams on the cliff. The first climbing team of two, Tom Thompson and Eric Erikson, both Californians, was climbing on the route named "Never Never Land." They were safely taken to the summit, then flown to El Capitan Meadow on Thursday. The second climbing team of two was on Salathe Wall. Marisol Monterrabio Vekasco from Santa Torre, Mexico, and her climbing partner, Tom Andrews of New Paltz, New York, were taken to the summit, then flown to El Capitan Meadow on Friday afternoon. All five of the rescued climbers are considered very capable and extremely skilled climbers and were in good condition after being rescued. The two deceased Japanese climbers were taken off the rock on Thursday. They were taken to the Mariposa County Coroner's Office, where they were identified as Mariko Ryugo, 27, and Ryoichi Yamanoto, 26. The cause of death was deemed hypothermia. Ryugo and her climbing partner Yamanoto were from Hyogo, Japan, and were visiting Yosemite with two friends. Marin County, Placer County, and Mariposa County Search and Rescue teams assisted Yosemite Search and Rescue. About 100 people were involved in the rescue operations. [Submitted by Raye Santos, Public Affairs]