Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Climbing El Capitan

Rock climbing is a popular activity among some outdoor enthusiasts (not this one, though).
This massive rock in Yosemite is popular with rock climbers, and the meadow below is a popular place to watch the climbers.
 If you wonder why my shots are a bit fuzzy, the climbers were hard to reach with my 300mm lens.  Also, I was lazy and depended on the image stabilization feature of the lens rather that setting up the tripod.  The yellow circle indicates where the climbers in the next shot were.
 The guy in the upper right is preparing to pull up the gear that is down by his buddy.
 It takes most climbers at least two days so they must find a ledge or use a suspended hammock to sleep.
 This climber and his partner were on the other face, a bit to the left of where a rockfall occurred a week later.  Geotripper posted some information about that.
This group was below and to the left of the first and are hidden from view by a tree in the first shot.

This seems an appropriate entry for Outdoor Wednesday, hosted for us by Susan at a southern Dreamer.  Click the link to see more views of the world outside.

17 comments:

Linnea said...

Excellent shots! I LOVE watching these climbers. They're insane, aren't they, but they're sure exciting to follow!

Sylvia K said...

Those are such fantastic shots, Martha! I've been there and watched climbers and never cease to be amazed! It is such a magnificent place! Have a lovely evening! Thanks for sharing the excitement!

Sylvia

Gaelyn said...

Makes my knees quake just looking at those climbers, and I get really light headed thinking of sleeping in a hammock on a rock face.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Great shots -- no need to apologize. I've been there gazing up at climbers and it made me dizzy just to look.

You ARE such an active outdoor-lover, when I saw the title of your post, I wasn't sure what to expect. Really I'm glad it wasn't you up there ;>)

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Rock climbing like that is very hard core. I admire'em but I don't want to to be'em. I can't imagine sleeping on a suspended hammock.

Linda Reeder said...

It's hard for me to imagine what motivates such activity!

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Fantastiche foto.
Mi piace molto questo tuo blog :)
Buona giornata.
Myriam

Katney said...

That second group must have been after we left. We stopped on our way out of the park to see if there were more that morning, but we only saw one. When was the rock slide?

Anonymous said...

Shrinking life to its real meaning. A challenge I'd love to meet. Please have a good Thursday.

Donnie said...

I love your Outdoor Wednesday photos. Beautiful cliffs.

♥ Kathy said...

Oh my goodness..that takes my breath away just looking at it! I can't imagine being up there! Thanks for visiting me :) I hope you had a great Outdoor Wednesday!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

some people are very brave, my kids belong to this group, and they leave their mum worrying.

Barb said...

Martha - I'll stand with you and take photos from the ground, thank you! I have a young friend who took his bride to climb in Yosemite on their honeymoon. They spent the night half way up and climbed the rest of the way the next day. I guess she knew what he was like before she married him!

Tania said...

Wow! I would love to try that!! And I love your pictures from a wonderful place and mountain. The only bad thing it`s that this is so far away from me..so long trip, but I hope we can do it some day:-) Not only to climb, but for pictures too.
Wish you a wonderful day!

Jeannette StG said...

Yes, I always see climbers at El Capitain - such a steep ascent!

EG CameraGirl said...

I admire people who climb like this but I am far too much of a klutz - not to mention scaredy cat when it comes to heights with a look that goes straight down - to try this sport.

Carolyn Ford said...

I can't imagine myself ever doing that...but, I have seen climbers in Joshua Tree NP and on El Capitan as well. What strength and endurance they all must have!