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Two people have lost their lives after falling while climbing the Freeblast Route on El Capitan inside Yosemite National Park this Saturday. With the investigation still ongoing, it is believed that park rangers were alerted to the incident through 911 calls reporting the incident early on Saturday morning. At this time, officials have not released the identities of the two victims.
What happened?
According to ABC 30, both climbers that fell during the incident did not survive; the identities of the two victims will be released pending their families being notified by officials. Park officials are investigating the deaths at this time.
According to ABC 7, officials have said that they do not believe more information will be released on Saturday concerning the story. The publication also noted that another death happened inside the park late last month, when a hiker also fell, from the Half Dome cables during a thunderstorm.
Who are the two victims?
The two victims were later identified late Saturday as Jason Wells, 46, of Boulder, Colorado, and Tim Klein, 42, from Palmdale, California. Rock and Ice Magazine described the two as being friends in the following excerpt:
“Jason Wells and Tim Klein, two friends and consummate big wall climbers, fell 1,000 feet to their deaths, still tethered together, while climbing the ‘Freeblast’ on El Capitan.”
“Wells, 46, of Boulder, Colorado; Klein, 42, of Palmdale, California; and Kevin Prince, were part way up the wall on a planned ascent of the ‘Salathé.’ The trio was employing a number of advanced speed-climbing techniques—such as simul-climbing and short-fixing—to move fast.”
“While precisely what precipitated Wells and Klein’s fatal fall is still unknown, various details and the circumstances surrounding the accident have begun to come into focus in the day-and-a-half since their deaths.”
The National Park Service has confirmed that the investigation concerning the death of the two victims is being investigated.
As this story is developing, more information will be updated as made available.
