A Welsh climber died while trying to save his wife from the devastating rockfall that hit Yosemite, the victim’s spouse said Saturday.
A Welsh climber died while trying to save his wife from the devastating rockfall that hit Yosemite, the victim’s spouse said Saturday.
Lucy Foster, 28, the wife of the victim Andrew Foster, 32, was saved from the giant rockfall that hit El Captain Wednesday when her husband jumped on top of her to shield her from the unexpected avalanche, New York Daily News reported. This is the first death from a rockfall in four years, according to park services.
“Andrew saved my life. He dived on top of me as soon as he could see what was going to happen. He saved my life,” Foster told her aunt when notifying her of the tragedy.
The outdoorsy couple, who was celebrating their one-year anniversary, were caught in the “wrong place, wrong time,” said park ranger Scott Gediman.
“September. 3 weeks. A rock climbers dream!! So I thought I’d best get training. We’ve been hitting up the Peak and Cornwall practising crack climbing and I’m slowly getting the hang of it,” Foster wrote in May on the couple’s shared blog “ Cam and Bear,” where they discussed their love for the outdoors.
The huge slab of granite that broke off from El Captain was approximately the size of a 13-story building, The Times reported .