Injured climber rescued from ledge after fall on Yosemite’s El Capitan

YOSEMITE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man was rescued after falling from a ledge while climbing the face of Yosemite’s El Capitan Monday afternoon.

According to rescuers, he was about three-quarters of the way up the 7,500-foot boulder.

Fresno’s CHP helicopter received the distress call from Yosemite’s Search and Rescue around 1:30 p.m., but according to Aerial Supervisor Chris Barrett, the weather interrupted the rescue mid-mission.

Rescues on rock faces are already challenging because crew members can’t lower the plumb line as they typically would, but Barrett says this rescue was made especially difficult because of the wind.

After making their way up to the injured victim, Barrett says the high winds forced the helicopter to turn back and land in a nearby meadow for an hour before returning.

The second time, however, they were able to make direct contact with the climber and hoist him to safety. According to an on-scene evaluation, he suffered moderate injuries after falling from one of the rock’s ledges. He was transported to a regional hospital via Skylife and is expected to recover.