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Half Dome survivors wish they had taken heed
Associated Press via SFGate.com ^ | Saturday, October 8, 2011 | By TRACIE CONE, Associated Press

Posted on 10/08/2011 5:38:30 PM PDT by thecodont

(10-08) 09:50 PDT Fresno, Calif. (AP) --

Armando Castillo knew he should not attempt the last treacherous stretch up Half Dome with storm clouds looming. But he felt he had come too far not to accomplish his goal.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/08/national/a080120D12.DTL#ixzz1aEwT4OCr

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: halfdome; rescue; risks; yosemite
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To: uncbob

Here’s a good idea; you can’t go up the Dome if there is bad or forecasted bad weather. Just say no


21 posted on 10/08/2011 7:35:17 PM PDT by Kozy (Calling Al Gore)
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To: uncbob

Here’s a good idea; you can’t go up the Dome if there is bad or forecasted bad weather. Just say no


22 posted on 10/08/2011 7:35:17 PM PDT by Kozy (Calling Al Gore)
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan

Nice shot from the top of “El Cap”...or at least it looks like the top of El Cap!


23 posted on 10/08/2011 8:02:29 PM PDT by Issaquahking (Perry/West 2012)
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To: Issaquahking
EL CAPITAN


24 posted on 10/08/2011 8:31:49 PM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan ("Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." Richard Feynman father of Quantum Physics)
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To: Issaquahking

NOPE.....HALF DOME


25 posted on 10/08/2011 8:34:00 PM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan ("Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." Richard Feynman father of Quantum Physics)
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan
NOPE.....HALF DOME....OOPS.....YOU'RE RIGHT
26 posted on 10/08/2011 8:48:08 PM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan ("Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." Richard Feynman father of Quantum Physics)
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan

I hung my head over the lip in a different life.


27 posted on 10/08/2011 8:50:52 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Cain/Rubio?)
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To: my4kidsdad
My son and I went up to the top about four years ago, when I was 45. We got an overnight camp permit and stayed at Little Yosemite Valley, about 3/4ths the way up. The next morning we left the gear at the camp and did the summit with just a light day pack. We were at the cables very early so no crowds. It was great. Came back down to the camp, collected the rest of our gear and hiked on down. Breaking it up to two days made it a much more pleasant adventure.
28 posted on 10/08/2011 9:06:30 PM PDT by Teotwawki (To Him be the glory throughout all generations.)
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To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan; goat granny

Beautiful picture...trying to decide if I should make it my wallpaper, but I love the hummingbird that’s there now...maybe when I get tired of the bird...:O)


29 posted on 10/08/2011 9:09:43 PM PDT by goat granny
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To: cripplecreek

The full cost of rescue could include a rescuer’s life. If the rock is too slick to climb and the weather’s too bad to fly, there isn’t going to be a rescue.


30 posted on 10/08/2011 9:42:27 PM PDT by heartwood
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To: uncbob

I’ve been up there too, and as you say, it’s memorable experience. That said, when you are on the top, the whole thing is covered with pock marks made by lightning strikes. If you are up there in a storm, you are the lightning rod, that’s for sure as there is very little shelter.


31 posted on 10/08/2011 11:13:18 PM PDT by vette6387 (Enough Already!)
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To: Iowa Granny; Ladysmith; Diana in Wisconsin; JLO; sergeantdave; damncat; phantomworker; joesnuffy; ..
If you’d like to be on or off this Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me. And ping me is you see articles of interest.

The salsa dancer from Hayward, Calif., soon found himself trapped at the 8,842-foot summit in a freezing thunderstorm...I was freaking out and thought I wasn't going to make it. But then I remembered that because of my dancing I was in a better position than most people...After the fact I realized it's the wilderness and they're not supposed to do anything, but I did go in expecting a little more of a warning

32 posted on 10/09/2011 5:13:40 AM PDT by SJackson (The irony is, the reason I was in this office is because I told a story to the American people, BHO)
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To: Revolting cat!
Where is the other half of the dome?

Taxes.

33 posted on 10/09/2011 5:25:31 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
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To: cripplecreek

That is exactly what we should do.

A lot of these back-to-earth urbanites are leftists who want government-run medicine and who, because of the cost-burden that people put on such a system, want the government to restrict personal behavior in order to keep costs down (like outlaw salt and fat and sugar, etc.).

Yet, they do something really, really stupid, they get in a bad predicament, they call the government to bail them out, (funded by the tax-payer), and then want to walk away scot-free.

I agree. Make them pay. Make it hurt.


34 posted on 10/09/2011 5:39:36 AM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Prepare for survival.)
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To: cripplecreek

FREEPERS HATE SALSA !

I’m gonna go get a burrito........:o)


35 posted on 10/09/2011 5:57:45 AM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: USNBandit; cripplecreek
QUICK! Is there a dancer in the house?

LOL!

Now, not that I'm defending twinkle toes, but I will say a trained salsa dancer can potentially be in as good a condition as any long distance runner.

Not that this would bail him out in this situation, as said "skill" does not negate gravity.

36 posted on 10/09/2011 7:00:20 AM PDT by Caipirabob ( Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Revolting cat!
Where is the other half of the dome?

Federal cutbacks in action!

It's truly an amazing sight to see. The whole park is a paradise unto itself!

37 posted on 10/09/2011 7:02:39 AM PDT by Caipirabob ( Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: thecodont

I’ve done Half Dome a couple times, including the day in 2009 when Gina Bartiroma fell. We were on our way back when it started snowing and raining. We heard the helicopter come to rescue her. The scariest thing about the cables that day was the fact it took 45 minutes to climb what should have taken 15 because of the crowds. The granite on the route up the cables is counter top smooth in some areas. It is a safe climb in good weather, not so much when it’s wet.

My favorite trail sign is a the Whitney Portal trailhead. It says “PEOPLE DIE UP THERE”.


38 posted on 10/09/2011 8:04:09 AM PDT by socal_parrot (I hate to say I told you so, but...)
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To: cripplecreek

There was no rescue. They called 911 and the operator told them they were on their own. They had to wait out the weather and get down on their own.


39 posted on 10/09/2011 8:11:43 AM PDT by SoJoCo
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To: Caipirabob; USNBandit; cripplecreek
Not that this would bail him out in this situation, as said "skill" does not negate gravity.

From his description of his descent (sliding ON HIS FEET, grabbing for a cable handhold, eventually scooting down on his butt), I'd say the salsa dancer's "skill" didn't help him much.

It's a 40% grade, steep as any ladder. You ascend a ladder by facing the rungs and holding the sides. You descend a ladder by (again) facing the RUNGS and holding the sides -- NOT by facing outwards and standing erect.

Someone with a decent amount of physical education should know something about his body's center of gravity and the advantages of keeping it low.

40 posted on 10/09/2011 9:15:32 AM PDT by thecodont
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