Climber Rescued From Cascading Waterfalls

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THE MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 15,2010

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Man Rescued From River At Top Of Cascading Waterfalls

On the afternoon of July 6th, Wawona rangers responded
to a report of a man stranded on a rock in a small pool
among cascading waterfalls in Chilnualna Creek. Incredibly,
the 21-year-old man sustained no injuries after falling
into the creek and being swept over a 10- to 15-foot-high
waterfall into a small turbulent pool. He was able to
climb up onto a small rock in the middle of the pool,
but had no way to reach the shore and another waterfall
below him. A short-haul rescue was attempted, but determined
to be too hazardous. Rescuers were able to rappel to him,
then ascended with him approximately 30 vertical feet back
to the top of a rock ledge on the shore. Had the man
continued over the next waterfall, the fall would have
likely been fatal. Investigation of the incident revealed
that he was one of a group of ten young men who had been
climbing around the waterfalls and that they had attempted
multiple creek crossings, one of which took him into the
swift moving water. They persisted even though they knew
the water was high from runoff. All ten were issued citations
for creating a hazardous condition and one citation was
issued for possession of a controlled substance.

[Submitted by Chad Andrews, Park Ranger]