Climber sets records in scaling Yosemite icons
By Miranda Simon
Published: Thursday, Jul. 8, 2010 - 12:00 am

When Alex Honnold made it to the top of Yosemite's imperious Half Dome two years ago – rope-less but serene up to the last slab – tourists gathered to ask him if he was crazy.

Even the most hard-core climbers wonder how the 24-year-old Sacramento native can make it to the top without the protection of ropes and still manage to keep calm.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/08/2875761/free-climber-keeps-cool-despite.html

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Stanford graduate student, avid rock climber falls to death
By Diana Samuels

Posted: 07/13/2010 06:30:19 PM PDT

Chris Chan, a 31-year-old Stanford graduate student, died Friday, July 9.
With degrees in engineering and biochemical sciences already in hand and working toward a doctorate in political science, Stanford University graduate student Chris Chan's was "all over the map" when it came to interests, her friend said Tuesday.

"But the one thing she knew for certain was that she loved climbing," Jim Castelaz added.

Chan, 31, died Friday afternoon doing what she loved — scaling a massive wall of rock. The former president of the Stanford Alpine Club fell to her death while descending Eichorn Pinnacle in Yosemite National Park.

National Park Service representatives confirmed Tuesday that Chan was free solo climbing without ropes or gear when she slipped and fell about 300 feet at about 1:24 p.m. It is not known why she slipped.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15508180?source%3Drss