Geologist: Yosemite rock falls don't mean more danger
Posted September 30, 2017 7:00 am
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) - Two days of huge falling rocks hurting and in one case killing people at Yosemite National Park doesn't mean there is increased danger. That's according to the park's geologist Greg Stock.
He told The Associated Press on Friday that it's impossible to predict when a hunk of rock like those that fell off El Capitan this week will break away, and that it happens about 80 times per year.
Elite mountain climber Alex Honnold compared the rock falls to a bolt of lightning for their randomness.
A huge chunk of rock fell from El Capitan and killed a British tourist and injured his wife on Wednesday.
An even bigger chunk fell off on Thursday and left one man injured.
They were the first rock falls to injure a person at the park since 2013.
In this photo provided by Peter Zabrok, climber Ryan Sheridan who had just reached the top of El Capitan, a 7,569-foot (2,307 meter) formation, when a rock slide let loose below him Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. It was not immediately clear if there were new casualties, a day after another slab dropped from El Capitan, killing a British climber and injuring a second. (Peter Zabrok via AP)
The Associated Press
Emergency personnel prepare to care for an elderly male, center background, after a rock fall occurred again on El Capitan Thursday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2017 in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite National Park says another rock fall has injured one person in the park, one day after a huge chunk of granite killed a British tourist. An immense mass of granite plunged from the side of El Capitan on Thursday and filled the valley below with a cloud of dust. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
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Emergency personnel prepare to care for an elderly man, center background, who was injured after a new rock fall on El Capitan occurred Thursday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. The fall came a day after tons of rock crashed down from El Capitan, killing a tourist who had been on a hiking and climbing trip and injuring a British woman with him. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
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Visitors watch the rock fall from El Capitan Meadow Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite National Park says another rock fall has injured one person in the park, one day after a huge chunk of granite killed a British tourist. An immense mass of granite plunged from the side of El Capitan on Thursday and filled the valley below with a cloud of dust. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
The Associated Press
An elderly male is helped into an ambulance after a rock fall occurs Thursday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite National Park says another rock fall has injured one person in the park, one day after a huge chunk of granite killed a British tourist. An immense mass of granite plunged from the side of El Capitan on Thursday and filled the valley below with a cloud of dust. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
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Vikki Glinkskii, bottom right, a climber steward with Ask A Climber, calls her boss from El Capitan Meadow to tell him about a new rockfall as white dust is thrown into the air at the Waterfall Route on El Capitan Thursday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite National Park says another rock fall has injured one person in the park, one day after a huge chunk of granite killed a British tourist. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
The Associated Press
A second rock fall occurs at El Capitan Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite National Park says another rock fall has injured one person in the park, one day after a huge chunk of granite killed a British tourist, Andrew Foster, 32, of Wales, while he and his wife were hiking at the bottom of El Capitan. An immense mass of granite plunged from the side of El Capitan on Thursday and filled the valley below with a cloud of dust. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
The Associated Press
This Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 photo provided by The National Park Service shows a rock fall off the iconic El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A massive new rock fall hit Yosemite National Park on Thursday, cracking with a thundering roar off the iconic El Capitan rock formation and sending huge plumes of white dust surging through the valley floor below. (The National Park Service via AP)
The Associated Press
This Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 photo provided by The National Park Service shows a rock fall off the iconic El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A massive new rock fall hit Yosemite National Park on Thursday, cracking with a thundering roar off the iconic El Capitan rock formation and sending huge plumes of white dust surging through the valley floor below. (The National Park Service via AP)
The Associated Press
This photo provided by Tamara Goode shows vehicles among a massive cloud of thick dust spreading across Yosemite Valley after a new rock fall from El Capitan Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Yosemite said on its Twitter page that the park was closing a road on the north side of the park because of the rock fall. Officials advised visitors to use the southern access road. (@wherestamara/Tamara Goode via AP)
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In this Wednesday Sept. 27, 2017, photo provided the National Park Service, a cloud of dust is seen on El Capitan after a major rock fall in Yosemite National Park, Calif. An official says the man killed when a massive hunk of rock fell of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan monolith was a British climber. Yosemite park ranger and spokesman Scott Gediman said Thursday that the man was with a British woman who was seriously injured. (Tom Evans/National Park Service via AP)
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, photo provided by Dakota Snider, photographer and Yosemite resident, a woman is carried into a helicopter after being rescued off El Capitan following a major rock fall in Yosemite National Park, Calif. All areas in California's Yosemite Valley are open Thursday, a day after the fatal rock fall. (Dakota Snider via AP)
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, photo provided by Dakota Snider, photographer and Yosemite resident, a woman is lowered by a helicopter after being lifted off El Capitan following a major rock fall in Yosemite National Park, Calif. All areas in California's Yosemite Valley are open Thursday, a day after the fatal rock fall. (Dakota Snider via AP)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday Sept. 27, 2017, photo provided John P. DeGrazio, a cloud of dust is seen in the distance on El Capitan after a major rock fall in Yosemite National Park, Calif. All areas in California's Yosemite Valley are open Thursday, a day after the fatal rock fall. (John P. DeGrazio/YExplore Yosemite Adventures via AP)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday Sept. 27, 2017, photo provided by Dakota Snider, photographer and Yosemite resident, a helicopter makes a rescue off El Capitan after a major rock fall in Yosemite National Park, Calif. All areas in California's Yosemite Valley are open Thursday, a day after the fatal rock fall. (Dakota Snider via AP)
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