Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite

628 Pages·2007·8.966 MB·English

by  Michael P. Ghiglieri, Charles R. Farabee

Off The Wall:
Death In Yosemite
Books by Michael P. Ghiglieri
The Chimpanzees of Kibale Forest
East of the Mountains of the Moon: Chimpanzee Society in the African
Rainforest
Canyon
The Dark Side of Man: Tracing the Origin of Male Violence
Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon (with coauthor Thomas M. Myers)
First through Grand Canyon: The Secret Journals and Letters of the 1869 Crew
Who Explored the Green and Colorado Rivers
Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite (with coauthor Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr.)
Through the Great Unknown (fiction, forthcoming)
Books by Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr.
Death, Daring, and Disaster: Search and Rescue in the National Parks
National Park Ranger: An American Icon
Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite (with coauthor Michael P. Ghiglieri)
Off The Wall:
Death In Yosemite
Michael P. Ghiglieri
and
Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr.

Off The Wall:
Death In Yosemite
Gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in America’s first
protected land of scenic wonders
Michael P. Ghiglieri
and
Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr.
PUMA PRESS
Flagstaff
Copyright ©2007 Michael P. Ghiglieri and Charles R. “Butch” Farabee, Jr.
Printed and bound in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electron­
ic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
or retrieval system—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review
to be printed in a magazine or newspaper—without permission in writing from the
publisher. For information, please contact Puma Press, P.O. Box 30998, Flagstaff,
Arizona 86003 USA.
Although the authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy
and completeness of information contained in this book, we assume no responsibili­
ty for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistency herein. Any slights
of persons, places, companies, or organizations are unintentional.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources.
FIRST EDITION, fourth printing, third revision, (6,000 copies)
Printing History of First Edition: four printings and three revisions (30,000 copies)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9700973-7-8 (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-9700973-7-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-9700973-6-1 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9700973-6-0
LCCN: 2006940914
Maps by Jack and Gay Reineck
Book jacket and cover design by Bronze Black
Cover concept by Michael R Ghiglieri and Thomas M. Myers
Front cover photographs by Daniel K. Horner and (inset of Carl Bantel [a.k.a. Otto
Miller]) by Ralph Anderson (1935), Yosemite National Park Research Library
Rear cover photograph by John Smedden, courtesy of Yosemite NP Search and Rescue
photo files
Author photographs by Bill Schumell and an NPS ranger at Lower Merced Pass Lake
in 1977
Interior art by Jim Myers
Book production by Mary Williams
Printed on recycled paper
Printed in USA
DEDICATION
For the millions who come to Yosemite National Park in the future,
that they each may walk away enriched—and in one piece.
And also in recognition of each member of every search and rescue
team—voluntary or paid—and of every companion, guide, and Good
Samaritan who has risked his or her life to save those of us who otherwise
never would have walked away at all. Your self-sacrifice represents what is
noblest in the human spirit.
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the general was lost.
For want of a general, the battle was lost.
For loss of the battle, the war was lost.