Yosemite Season’s Second Climbing Death: Loose Rock Strikes Again

In the spring climbers from around the world converge on Yosemite, partly because of the reliable reputation of its steely granite. Yet, this season alone, there have been two deaths from loose rock. On May 19, .Mason Robison pulled off loose rock on the Muir Wall that cut his lead line and subsequently he fell to the end of his haul line and sustained a fatal head injury. On June 2, 28-year-old Englishman Felix Kiernam was struck by a 150 kg rock that fell 50 m before striking him on the head and killing him. The party below used a cell phone to contact Search and Rescue and he was pulled off the mountain in just two hours.