Two US climbers reportedly training for a speed ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite national park, northern California, died in a fall at the weekend.
Jason Wells, 46, and Tim Klein, 42, fell at about 8.15am on Saturday while scaling the so-called Freeblast route of the granite rock formation, the US National Park Service said.
It is the third serious incident involving speed ascents of the granite monolith into the last year, prompting at least one local expert to question the practice.
The pair, experienced climbers in their 40s, had climbed El Capitan many times before and were reported to have been training for a speed ascent of it.
The two men were climbing using a system popular with speed climbers and some alpinists called “simul” – or simultaneous – climbing.
Unlike conventional roped ascents where one climber is attached at regular interval points and anchors the lead climber as he places equipment to secure the rope against uncontrolled falls, in simul climbing both climbers move together at the same speed with the rope between them.
Using the technique, there is a far greater risk that if either climber falls then the other will also fall.
The method is favoured for speed ascents, including informal speed records, as both climbers are moving together with neither needing to stop and belay the lead climber, but it requires expertise, confidence and often knowledge of the climb.
El Capitan, which looms 900 metres (3,000ft) above the floor of Yosemite valley, is one of the best-known landmarks in the national park.
The incident occurred days after the climbers Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell set a new speed record for El Capitan’s Nose route, one of the world’s best known rock climbs, completing a climb that typically takes about six days in two hours and 10 minutes.
Last month Hans Florine, who has held multiple speed records for climbs on the face, broke both of his legs while attempting a one-day ascent of the Nose. Another climber, Quinn Brett, fell more than 100ft on the Nose during a speed ascent, leaving her paralysed.
“I’ve been worrying about this speed game for a while. The faster you go the more dangerous it is,” Ken Yager, the founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association, told Climbing magazine this weekend.
“I understand the attraction of it, but [speed climbing is] a lot different than what we did here 30 or 40 years ago, and what we did then was plenty dangerous. With speed climbing you don’t have time to double-check your systems. It’s all fun and games until you lose a party like this. It’s horrible.”
A British climber was killed and his wife was badly injured in September 2017 during a rockslide while on El Capitan.
More than 100 climbing accidents occur in Yosemite each year, and 51 climbers died from traumatic injuries in the park between 1970 and 1990, according to the park service.