El Cajon Mountain (1,121 m), California - Free-Soloing

"..Arock climber was free-soloing on El Cajon Mountain in San Diego on Sunday when he fell to his death. The identity of the 22-year-old has not been released. 
A group of nearby climbers witnessed the accident and rushed to help. By the time search and rescue arrived the climber was pronounced dead. One climber, James Faerber, said that he was “traumatized” after witnessing the fall. “I’ve been through a huge range of emotions for sure,” Faerber told the San Diego-Tribune.
Lt. Ruben Medina with San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said, “By the time we were able to get to where the climber was, it’s about 2,500 feet in elevation, and it’s about a two-hour hike to get to the climber. So it made yesterday’s recovery impossible.” On Monday, crews spent more than 12 hours making the recovery with the aid of a helicopter.
Billy Ortiz, who’s lived in the area for 63 years, told CBS 8 that the climber was on a route at a crag called The Wedge. “It goes up to the left and then the right, and then there’s an overhang,” Ortiz, who filmed the recovery mission, said. The area has several single- and multi-pitch routes from 5.6 trad to 5.12 sport..."

Rock Climber Free-Soloing Falls to Death 

 


Location: El Cajon Mountain, California 92065, USA

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