Two Climbers Fall to Death on Yosemite’s El Capitan
They were the second and third deaths the park has recorded in 2018
Two rock climbers fell to their death on Saturday on the Free Blast route on Yosemite’s famous El Capitan. Jason Wells, age 46, of Boulder, Colorado and Tim Klien, age 42, from Palmdale, California were identified as the climbers.
The fatalities follow the death of a hiker on Yosemite’s Half Dome Trail last week, which was the first death in the park in 2018. Now the death toll for the year sits at 3.
Park officials were alerted to the accident around 8 am on Saturday and arrived on the scene to find the fallen climbers already deceased.
El Capitan remains one of the world’s most famous rock climbing wall in the world. Last week, famous rock climbers beat the world speed record on El Capitan, creating a buzz in the rock climbing community worldwide.
About 100 rock climbing injuries are reported in the park each year. In 2016, there were 16 deaths in the park.
