On Wednesday, a huge slab dropped from the iconic El Capitan in Yosemite; killing one British climber and injuring a second. The climber killed by the rock fall has been named as Andrew Foster, 32, from Wales. National park authorities have since revealed that his wife, who was climbing with him at the time, is undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. The pair were in the area celebrating their first wedding anniversary.
Thursday saw another massive rock fall on El Capitan, with another significant slab cracking cracking off the formation with a loud roar and sending huge plumes of white dust surging through the valley below. Authorities have stated that this incident injured one person, resulting in them being airlifted to hospital.
Ken Yager, Founder and President of the Yosemite Climbing Association, said he witnessed both falls and that the latest one appeared to be “substantially bigger” than the first one.
Climber Ryan Sheridan had only just made it to the summit of El Capitan (2,307m), on Thursday, when the rock slide occurred below him. Sharing an image of his view on Instagram, Sheridan wrote “Broke loose again, we just topped out. Ground shaking, rockfall crossed road.”
Photos shared on Twitter by reporter Connie Tran, shot from inside the valley, show the size and scale of the rockfall and it’s subsequent plume. “My photographer and I witnessed the whole ordeal, it was so loud, thunderous,” she wrote.
#BREAKING: Another rock fall near #ElCapitan in @YosemiteNPS. My photographer and I witnessed the whole ordeal, it was so loud, thunderous. pic.twitter.com/6J3xmieMet
— Connie Tran (@MissConnieTran) September 28, 2017
