Yosemite Blog

MyMotherLode.com: “Authorities say a body discovered in the Tuolumne River over the weekend may be that of a kayaker missing since June.

Lt. George Ruckman of the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office says the body was discovered Saturday in the Clavey Falls area where a man kayaking with three others went under the water and became trapped in the rapids June 16th.

Ruckman says the body was sighted by a CHP helicopter, however ground crews were unable to reach the body until Sunday morning.

An autopsy is scheduled to identify the remains and the family of the missing man has been notified.”

Our sympathies go out to the family of Mr Bradley.

Technorati Tags: missing, news, kayaking, Sierra Nevada, wilderness

Yahoo! News: “US astronomers said they had pinpointed the moment and location when one of the most famous landscape pictures in photographic history was taken.

“Autumn Moon, the High Sierra from Glacier Point,” taken by Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, is a thrilling view of the American West, featuring a waxing Moon rising over dark, ice-tinged peaks.

But precisely when Adams took the iconic black-and-white picture has never been clear, and dates for it range from the mid to the late 1940s.

A team led by Donald Olson, a professor of physics and astronomy at Southwest Texas State University, claim that the mystery can be resolved.

Using lunar tables, topographic maps, weather records and astronomical software, backed by a scouting trip to Glacier Point itself, the researchers believe that Adams pressed the shutter on September 15, 1948 at 7:03 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.”

Technorati Tags: Ansel Adams, news, photography, yosemite

KTLA: “The rumble began high on the sheer cliff wall, like faraway thunder before a storm.

A slab of granite as big as a railroad boxcar had let loose 1,300 feet up Glacier Point’s age-worn face. The million-pound rock cartwheeled and shattered, tracing a plume of dust downward toward Peter Terbush.

In his last earthbound moments, Terbush turned to a long-ago climbing lesson taught by his dad. As a little boy first astride a mountain, he learned to always protect a partner at the end of the rope. Never let go.

The broad-shouldered 21-year-old held fast to the nylon lifeline lashed to a friend 60 feet up. Another buddy on the ground scrambled for cover as the boulders hit earth, exploding like bombs.

Fate let his two friends escape with lacerations. They found Terbush’s body crumpled in a ball, his hands still gripping the rope.

Six years after the rock slide, his parents suspect that mankind’s handprint atop Glacier Point — most notably a bathroom water system prone to overflow — lubricated the cliff face, provoking a flurry of rock falls, including the June 1999 tragedy that claimed Terbush.

His parents have poured their grief and suspicions and search for answers into a $10-million wrongful death lawsuit against the National Park Service. “My son understood the risks of climbing,” said Jim Terbush, himself a climber. “But he didn’t know the conditions on Glacier Point had been fundamentally changed.”

The legal battle, set for a first hearing Tuesday, has sent reverberations around Yosemite and the climbing community beyond.

Park officials have a ready argument — and an admonition: No one can know when a rock fall is going to happen. And a ruling against the park, they warn, could all but kill climbing in the Yosemite Valley.”

Technorati Tags: climbing, outdoor, yosemite

The new poll is up and boy is it a doozy. Here’s this months poll:

May 1 - September 15, the camping limit in Yosemite is 14 days, and only 7 of those days can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona (NPS Camping Rules and Regulations). Do you think this rule is fair or should it be changed to allow visitors to stay as long as they can pay?

I can’t wait to see what you think. Remember, the poll runs for about a month so you’ve got plenty of time to vote.

Technorati Tags: yosemite

Well it’s that time again. Time to post the results of the latest Yosemite Blog Poll and get your opinion on a new Yosemite topic.

This month a record 45 people voted with the overwhelming majority (80%) agreeing that the National Park Service should impose a limit on the number of motor vehicles that can enter the park to help reduce long lines, overcrowding, lack of parking, and pollution.

Thanks to everyone who voted. The new poll should be up in a few moments. Be sure to vote!

Technorati Tags: yosemite