Two climbers die after falling from ‘El Capitan’ in Yosemite National Park.
Park rangers and search-and-rescue teams responded to El Capitan after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting the fall around 8:15 a.m. Saturday. The men did not survive the fall.
On Saturday afternoon, the park identified the pair as Jason Wells, 46, of Boulder, Colorado, and Tim Klein, 42, of Palmdale, California. Some witnesses said there was a third climber in the party, but Yosemite did not confirm that.
They were about 1,000 feet up Freeblast, a route with a difficulty rating of 5.11 on the Salathé Wall.
This is the second fatal incident in Yosemite National Park in a little over a week: On May 21, a hiker fell to his death on Half Dome.
On May 4, noted climber Hans Florine broke bones in both legs during a fall on a different El Capitan route, the Nose.
