El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
File this one under "Dead Nihonjin".
A Japanese man and woman got caught in an unseasonal Sierra blizzard while attempting to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and then froze to death. What a way to go....
ktvu.com wrote:Rescuers also were hard at work on El Capitan, the forbidding monolith that rises up from the Yosemite Valley. Seven people were caught on the face of the mountain by the blizzard, and two died before rescuers could reach them. The others were all located and were either safe or being rescued on Thursday.
The two dead climbers -- a man and a woman from Japan -- were spotted Wednesday by a helicopter crew, dangling lifeless about two-thirds of the way up the 3,200-foot face. The copter was able to hover within a few feet of the bodies, close enough to see that they were blue and had icicles on them, said ranger David Horne.
Their bodies were carried up to the summit late Thursday and were expected to be sent by helicopter to the coroner's office, a park spokeswoman said.
Link here
Malaysia Star wrote:YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California: Two Japanese climbers were killed in Yosemite National Park as a fierce early blizzard caught visitors throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains off-guard, stranding several backpackers.
As the storm began to clear Wednesday, a helicopter crew took off and spotted the climbers dangling lifeless about two-thirds of the way up a 3,200-foot face (975 meters) sheer climbing face, said park ranger Deb Schweizer.
"They weren't moving,'' she said. "They didn't seem well-equipped.''
Rangers expected to be able to retrieve the bodies Thursday.
Link here