El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (image courtesy of the Denver Post)
I was shaken and saddened to hear of the deaths of Jason Wells, 46, from Boulder, Colorado and Tim Klien, 42, from Palmdale, California, who fell from the Freeblast route yesterday. They were both respected and experienced climbers with families and will be greatly missed. A third member of their party was uninjured in the accident.
Tim and Jason climbing in Yosemite (posted by Jason on supertopo.com)
The cause of the accident is unknown at this time. One of the next-of-kin and a group of climbers who witnessed the accident suggested that they were pulled off the mountain by a haul bag dropped from above them by another group of climbers. However, other reports stated that the rangers did not find a haul bag.
Recently, the AAC created the Climbing Grief Fund to help those affected by the deaths of friends and family. The climbing community is a close-knit one and every year accidents such as this one cause immeasurable grief, and often there is no clear way to heal after climbing tragedies. The AAC hopes to use the money to set up a grief resource webpage, individual grants for grief counseling, group counseling sessions, and more starting in the Fall of this year. You can read about their efforts and donate here:
https://chuffed.org/project/climbinggrieffund
For those affected by this tragedy, please consider seeking help immediately rather than waiting for the AAC's program to come online. In the meantime, consider making a donation in Jason and Tim's names to honor their memory and help others in need. Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport, and while risks can be mitigated through education and using proper techniques, they can never be eliminated. It is less clear how to mitigate the psychological effects of loss that the climbing community experiences every season, but I commend the AAC for taking steps in this direction.