NASA: Snow Blankets Yosemite National Park, CA In the second week of November 2022, the first significant winter storm of the season pummeled California with record daily rainfall in the lowlands and heavy snowfall in the mountains. As the storm system moved on to the Great Plains, skies cleared over California and revealed this wintery view of the Central Sierra Nevada. Related: 8-Year-Old Boy Sets Out to […] SnowBrains | November 15, 2022 0 Comments
Yosemite National Park, CA, to Mandate Big Wall Permits Yosemite has been discussing the possibility of enforcing big wall climbing permits for a few years. After a two-year pilot program, they have come to a decision to enforce permits starting in January 2023 permanently. Project Goals The stated main focus of the permit system is to preserve wildlife. The National Park Service (NPS) described its struggles with big wall […] Climbing Riley McDonald | November 11, 2022 0 Comments
8-Year-Old Boy Sets Out to Become Youngest Ever to Scale Yosemite’s El Capitan, CA This week, a father and son duo initiated an attempt to climb El Capitan at Yosemite National Park in California. The feat would make the 8-year-old boy the youngest person ever to climb the world-renowned peak. Rising more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor, you don’t have to be a climber to comprehend that El Capitan is a challenging […] Climbing Nick DeRiso | October 27, 2022 0 Comments
Young Climber Survives 80 ft. Fall in Yosemite National Forest, CA Climbing With Friends 21-year-old Anna Parsons is an outdoor enthusiast and was enjoying what she loves to do most on August 1, 2022. She had no idea what would happen that fateful day. She just arrived in the U.S. two days earlier with her friend and classmate, Jack Evans. They were marine science students from New Zealand on their way […] Industry News Ryan Kime | August 23, 2022 0 Comments
[VIDEO] 2,650′ Rappel Off El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, CA “In this video we had 1 rope rigged, 3000 feet long, from the diving board on the nose of El Capitan. This style of rappelling/rigging is called Single Rope Technique, or SRT. This is how cavers explore vertical caves in the USA for the most part, which is not the same as European techniques with multiple rebelays. We use a […] Climbing CragBrains | August 9, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Thousands Evacuated as Wildfires Burn Near Yosemite National Park, CA For the second time in a month, wildland fires are burning through parched forests near Yosemite National Park. The fast-moving Oak fire in Mariposa County, west of the park, has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The smaller Washburn fire, now mostly contained by firefighters, burned earlier this month in Madera County, along the southern edge of the […] Fire Firebrains | July 26, 2022 1 Comment
Rare Updraft Generated by Yosemite National Park, CA, Wildfire Caused Tree Branches to be Sucked Up Into the Sky and Hit Firefighting Aircraft A “rare and dangerous” updraft from the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park last weekend had tree branches and other debris sucked high enough into the sky that they rained down on firefighting tanker airplanes dropping water on the blaze, according to an article shared by the San Francisco Chronicle. Related: 500 Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park, CA, Threatened […] Fire Firebrains | July 14, 2022 0 Comments
500 Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park, CA, Threatened by Growing Wildfire The Washburn Fire has doubled in size over the past 24 hours, threatening the largest grove of giant sequoia trees in California’s Yosemite National Park. The blaze is estimated to have burned 1,591 acres and park officials have closed down Mariposa Grove, home to 500 giant sequoias trees, including the famed Grizzly Giant which is thought to be around 3,000 […] Fire Firebrains | July 11, 2022 4 Comments