Yosemite Crew Rescues Mountaineer Injured While Climbing El Capitan
A Japanese mountaineer was rescued Sunday after falling 30 feet during a solo climb in Yosemite National Park, park officials said.
Hideki Inaba, 33, fell Friday while climbing the face of El Capitan. He smashed his head on the granite rock face before coming to rest on a ledge, the officials said.
Members of his climbing party found his bloodstained helmet Saturday and alerted park rangers, who flew in a helicopter to the top of El Capitan to rescue Inaba.
Rescuers hauled the injured man more than 600 feet up the rock face to the top of the cliff late Saturday.
Because it was too dark to fly, Inaba and the 15-member rescue team spent Saturday night on the top of El Capitan. He was flown off the summit and taken to the park clinic for treatment Sunday morning.
Inaba suffered a large cut behind his right ear and complained of back pain, but he was reported in stable condition, officials said.
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