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 ...
Here’s a good idea; you can’t go up the Dome if there is bad or forecasted bad weather. Just say no
Here’s a good idea; you can’t go up the Dome if there is bad or forecasted bad weather. Just say no
Nice shot from the top of “El Cap”...or at least it looks like the top of El Cap!
NOPE.....HALF DOME
I hung my head over the lip in a different life.
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)
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.
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.
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
Taxes.
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.
FREEPERS HATE SALSA !
I’m gonna go get a burrito........:o)
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.
Federal cutbacks in action!
It's truly an amazing sight to see. The whole park is a paradise unto itself!
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”.
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.
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.
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