SAN FRANCISCO — 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. 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.
Ken Yager, president and founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association, said he witnessed the most recent rock fall that appeared to be “substantially bigger.”
Driving past the base of El Capitan, Yager said he saw the dust cloud and emergency workers rushing to the scene. Images posted on social media showed a massive cloud of thick dust spreading across Yosemite Valley.
Climber Ryan Sheridan had just reached the top of El Capitan, a 7,569-foot formation, when the rock slide let loose below him Thursday.
“There was so much smoke and debris,” he said by cellphone from the top of El Capitan. “It filled the entire valley with smoke.”
Sheridan had also climbed up El Capitan a day earlier, when the first rock slide occurred and said this one was huge in comparison.
“It was in the same location of the previous rock fall. A larger rock fall let loose, easily three times the size,” Sheridan said.
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.
The massive granite slab that fell Wednesday was seen as a rare event – but only because the rock fall turned deadly, longtime climbers said Thursday.
Rocks at the world-renowned park’s climbing routes break loose and crash down about 80 times a year. The elite climbers know it’s a risk but also rare to get hit and killed by the rocks.
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