Daring rescue gets pair off El Capitan

[JERRY_SANCHEZ]

Not sure if this was already posted so my apology for the repeat. An interesting article today in the Seattle Times. Would be cool to hear the story from anybody caught in this storm.

 

 

Friday, October 22, 2004

Daring rescue gets pair off El Capitan

By Ben Margot

The Associated Press

 

 

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Rangers yesterday completed a dramatic rescue of two climbers from a snowy mountain and removed the ice-encrusted bodies of two other hikers who died on the peak in an unexpected early blizzard in the Sierras.

The deaths occurred on El Capitan, a forbidding granite mountain at Yosemite National Park, after a fierce blizzard that stranded nearly two dozen hikers and climbers across Northern California this week. Other than the two deaths, everyone was found or rescued.

The blizzard blew in early Sunday and continued through Wednesday, creating deadly white-out conditions and 50 mph gusts as it dumped several feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada. "Oh, thank God, thank God. This is the greatest day of my life," Rita Bargetto-Snider said after receiving word that her brother, Paul Bargetto, was safe.

The two deaths were first confirmed by a helicopter crew that managed to fly close enough Wednesday to spot the bodies as they dangled from their ropes about two-thirds the way up the precipice.

To retrieve the corpses, rangers rappelled down El Capitan, put the bodies into yellow mountaineering bags, and carried them on their backs hundreds of feet to the summit. Another ranger team, using ropes secured to thick pine trees on the mountaintop, rappelled down to rescue the surviving climbers, who were airlifted off the mountain.

"They're cold and they're tired, but they're in fine condition," said Jen Nersesian, a park spokeswoman.

Paul Bargetto was part of a four-person group — two father-son pairs — that had been missing since Sunday after becoming stranded at a 9,400-foot-elevation lake near Fresno, about 70 miles southwest of Yosemite.

The men, members of a California winemaking family, were greeted yesterday by about a dozen friends and family members after being removed from the mountain. None of the men needed hospitalization.

"Once the conditions got overwhelming, they stayed put and rationed their food and kept warm. They saved themselves," said Jenna Endres, one of the rescuers.

Another member of the group, Frank Horath, said no one packed gloves, so they shared wool socks and used them as hand-warmers. They only brought food for three people for one day, so they ate five peanuts for breakfast and a scoop of peanut butter for dinner.

"After five or six days, we didn't think anyone was coming for us," he said, adding that when the weather began clearing, they would signal at airplanes with a mirror and lay out an orange tarp.

"I've never been that cold in my life," Michael Bargetto said.

Seven people were stranded on El Capitan by the storm: the two Japanese climbers, a man and woman ill-prepared for the weather, a ranger said; the two rescued yesterday; another couple who asked for extra supplies but apparently didn't need additional help; and one climber who was rescued Wednesday.

One-half mile high and one mile wide, El Capitan casts an imposing shadow over the glacier-sculpted Yosemite Valley. The first successful ascent took 45 days, but most climbers today need three or four days to reach the top — clinging to barely visible outcroppings and prying their way up cracks invisible from the valley floor. The face of the mountain is 3,200 feet high.

Springtime, when days are long and weather often is perfect for weeks at a time, is the best time to attempt an ascent. By June, the wall can be an inferno due to high temperatures. By September, days are too short and nights can be chilly. By October, there's always the risk of an early snowfall.

Earlier yesterday, four other hikers were rescued from Yosemite's Ansel Adams Wilderness, southeast of El Capitan. All are experienced backpackers who had camped in snow previously and were prepared for bad weather.

Jeff Peacock said conditions Tuesday were "pretty miserable" and the group used an insulated red pad and handkerchiefs to try to attract the attention of rescuers in a helicopter.

"It was boring most of all," Peacock said. "We were just sitting in the tents staying warm. We knew we'd be found eventually."

Associated Press reporter Tom Verdin contributed to this report

[CPOly]

To retrieve the corpses, rangers rappelled down El Capitan, put the bodies into yellow mountaineering bags, and carried them on their backs hundreds of feet to the summit.

 

[Dru]

How can I get one of these "yellow mountaineering bags"? Sounds like they make good haulbags and bivi sacs.

[Stemalot]

yeah...are these yellow bags especially made for the Yosemite?

[Bogen]

A friend says that we might be able to buy body bags from the army surplus store in vancouver. I'm gonna check it out as a bivy sac, what the hell!

[Dru]

aren't body bags rubberized and heavy and stuff?

[chucK]

It's the Goth/Nihilism part of Twight, without the "light is right" part.