Sentinel Rock is one of the most prominent features of Yosemite Valley
situated between Glacier Point and the Cathedral Rocks on the south side of the
valley. An experienced pair of climbers was nearing the summit of the
north face on the regular route when the leader fell and struck his head before
the rope caught his fall. He died either instantly or shortly after that.
We were alerted to the accident in the evening, too late to mount a rescue
that night. The other climber spent the night on the face and in the
morning was able to get to the summit and descend on his own. At daybreak
the next morning I flew a reconaisance tip on the forest fire crew's helicopter
and then organized a
fairly large group of climbers to recover the body from the face. Beverly
Johnson, who was one of the rising stars of Yosemite climbing and who went on to
be the first woman to solo El Capitan, was the leader of the technical team that
went onto the face. The helicopter ride onto and the off the summit was
"thrilling" given the wind patterns. Here are some photos from that
operation.
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Sentinel Rock and Sentinel Dome with Half Dome behind. Looking up the valley toward Tenaya Canyon. South rim trail above Bridalveil Falls. |
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Looking west down the valley from 4-mile trail. Sentinel Rock on left and El Capitan on the right. Cathedral rocks in center. |
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Evening photo of the north face of Sentinel Rock. The climbing accident occurred near the top of the dark fissure to the right side of the face. |
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Beverly Johnson giving instructions to the climbers as they planned to work around on the west face and onto the north face. Notice Bev's blue boots. |
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Preparing the litter for rope descent to the accident site. |
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Team member being brought onto the summit by the small Bell helicopter. Usually we used military helicopters from Lemore Naval Air Station. |
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Touching a skid on the rock, the climber leaves the helicopter and the loss of weight causes the craft to lift suddently. |
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Recovery to the summit accomplished using a pulley system. |
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Preparing to move the litter to the helicopter evacuation point. |
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Climbers moving the litter for evacuation. A grim task, as most knew the dead climber. |
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In any operation like this there can be long waits while people are transported one at a time to the staging area at the road near Sentinel Dome. |
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Lifting the gear used in the operation from the summit of Sentinel Rock. |
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Jim Bridwell and other climbers on the operation basking in the sun on the summit of Sentinel. |
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Climbers use every opportunity to climb. This bouldering exercise had the added benefit of being on pay clock. |
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