Re: Rangers Rescue Climber Perched On Tiny Ledge

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Rangers Rescue Climber Perched On Tiny Ledge

Park dispatch received a cell phone call from climber Daniel Susman around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15th, in which Susman reported that he’d become ledged-out while scrambling on a dome near Merced Lake and that he’d need assistance getting off the ledge. He said that he wasn’t in any immediate danger, but that he was unable to ascend or descend from his location. Upon flying past, rescue personnel were shocked to discover that Susman had downplayed his predicament. They found that he was standing on minuscule ledge, clinging to the rock on a nearly vertical wall approximately 800 feet above the valley floor. Susman’s position was deemed to be too tenuous to try to retrieve him directly by short haul. The concern was that the buffeting winds from the aircraft might dislodge Susman from his stance before he could be made secure. The pilot, Richard Shatto, and the two spotters, Jeff Pirog and Boots Davenport, had a difficult time maintaining a steady hover with the aircraft due to gusting winds. Ranger Keith Lober was short-hauled into a location 50 feet above Susman’s perch where he power drilled three anchor bolts. Ranger Eric Gabriel was then short-hauled to the anchor station. Lober lowered Gabriel down to Susman, who was then secured in a “screamer suit;” he and Gabriel were then short-hauled off the face. Cell phone coverage in Yosemite backcountry is generally nonexistent. Susman was incredibly lucky, as the location where he became stuck was just high enough for the cell signal to peek over the surrounding rock faces and hit the Sentinel Dome repeater, the only repeater in that area of remote wilderness. Incidentally, Susman had sustained and recovered from two short falls just before deciding to stop and request help.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2009 05:07AM by eeek.

Another idiot who was lucky. Maybe he will be paid $160,600 to tell his story.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2020 05:21AM by rightstar76.

Quote
rightstar76
Another idiot who was lucky. Maybe he will be paid $160,600 to tell his story.

He wasn't out there long enough.

[By the way, one of the first rules of climbing is that you do not climb alone. (With a climbing companion, he would have been able to extricate himself from the situation.) The rule right next to that one is that you do not put yourself in a situation where someone else can fall on you. (Insert standard HD crowded cable photo here.) Only tourists do that.]



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2009 06:33PM by szalkowski.