The climber was approximately 250 feet below the top of El Capitan when his partner reached the Yosemite rescue office on October 22, 2012.
The National Park Service identifies them with pseudonyms: Mark and Peter. Their Muir Wall rescue began after a long climb, a stuck haul line and a storm that reached the summit before they could both get off the rock.
They had already spent seven days on the route when a friend warned them by phone that three days of rain and snow were approaching.
Muir Wall rescue: The equipment below the climbers
They pushed upward, reaching the top of the thirtieth pitch at sunset. Mark then combined the next two pitches in one lead by headlamp.
The haul line jammed in a crack. Their bags, containing survival equipment and additional ropes, could not be brought up.
Mark anchored his climbing rope so Peter could follow and release the obstruction. Communication was difficult in the wind. Mark proposed leaving the equipment, completing the final pitch and walking down before the weather arrived. Peter chose to remain with the gear.
Mark had no spare rope for the final pitch, but the remaining climbing was sufficiently short and easy for him to scramble out unroped. He reached Camp 4 at about 2 a.m. Half an hour later, the storm arrived.
By morning, snow covered the summit. Returning to help Peter was no longer something Mark felt equipped to do. He could not reach him by phone or radio, so he contacted rangers.
Too cold to climb the rescue rope
Flying additional personnel to the summit was unsafe. Three rescuers climbed the East Ledges with minimal equipment and reached the top late that afternoon.
One descended to Peter. The climber had struggled to erect his shelter and remained exposed to the weather. He was so cold that he could not ascend a rope independently.
The team attached him to the rescue system, then hauled him to the summit. They left the climbing equipment behind and descended with him, reaching the valley around 10 p.m.
Peter slept in Camp 4 that night and left for home the next day. Mark retrieved the gear after the weather improved.
The park cautioned that its account was based on incomplete interviews. It nevertheless documented the essential trap: equipment intended to make a storm survivable was present, but shelter had not been established before exposure reduced the climber’s ability to use it. Nearness to the summit did not solve that problem. Other people had to close those final 250 feet for him.
Sources and reporting
Researched reporting: an original narrative based on the published records linked below.
