Shattered Air: A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite's Half Dome
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“I took it as a major defeat, a crushing setback. I slipped back into my heavy drinking and drugging once more. I barely hung on to my life and my wife. Then one day in the mid-’90s, I woke up. I discovered Jesus Christ and became a devout, born-again Christian. I stopped abusing my body with substances. I refocused on my family, and in my work I became a laser engineer, which surely must surprise many of my old Hayward buddies.”
BRUCE WEINER LIVES with the effects of the lightning strike each day of his life. It caused him to see firsthand how fragile life really is, and that it takes very little “to totally screw up one’s life.”
Weiner: “Going to the top at that time, I know now, was a stupid decision, but I didn’t know then that it was a stupid move. How can you say you’ll risk your life just so you can reach the top of a mountain twenty minutes early? That’s beyond stupidity. That’s just a total lack of brains. What we didn’t know at the time, though, was how reckless it was to go to that cave during a raging holocaust, that we were playing with our lives.
“A big part of our decision was that we [Frith and I] were following the two leaders, Rice and Esteban. We trusted their knowledge and judgment. After all, they had been doing this hike for years and were seasoned veterans. They believed that we’d be fully safe once in the cave.
“Am I bitter about what happened? On one level, yes, I am very bitter. Rice and Esteban led us into a totally unnecessary disaster that cost my best friend his life and me my health. I guess the question is, When should one trust a ‘leader’ and when should one not? I’m sure there are times when one must absolutely follow a leader in dangerous situations, when he possesses the expert knowledge and skill. But this was not one of those times. There was counterinformation from real authorities staring us in the face, and still we chose to go up.
“So, in retrospect, I feel I really have nobody to blame but myself. We passed signs that gave specific warnings about not going to the summit when there are signs of a thunderstorm and not taking cover in a rock enclosure. Frith and I were adults capable of thinking for ourselves, so we had little excuse for our own actions. We were the only ones with college degrees, for God’s sake! But maybe that kind of learning doesn’t matter in the outdoors, when it comes down to common sense and reasoned judgment. It’s a valuable lesson why someone should not give in to the pressures of the moment, to group pressures, if one’s own thinking and intuition say it’s not right. One always needs to think for himself-—in effect, not to relinquish control over his own destiny and allow someone else to determine it for him.”
ADRIAN ESTEBAN HAS CARRIED around the tragedy in his head and heart for more than two decades and is willing to be as honest as he can in terms of confronting his role in the calamity and talking about it.
Esteban: “I can now look back and feel totally responsible and not hide from the fact that I found the cave, and that it was my idea to bring everyone else on this trip. I did not force anyone to climb the cables to the top, but Tom and I were the leaders and they were just following us. If Tom and I did not make the climb to the top, then Bruce, Brian, and Bob would not have been there and all our lives from that day on would be different.
“The thing is, Tom and I really believed that facing and overcoming your fears was the right principle to follow. For 99 percent of the time, it’s a sound approach in life for realizing your potential, succeeding, progressing. It’s just that it failed us that one time on the top of Half Dome. With something as powerful and unpredictable as lightning, we should have understood that sound judgment had to be part of the equation.
“Despite the enormity of the tragedy, my feelings toward Half Dome remain the same, only now they are more profound. It is still a special place for me and, if anything, the entire incident was almost like my destiny. It served as a catalyst to motivate me to do something good with my life. No matter how difficult or bad things could get from that moment forward, all I have to do is look back at the accident and remember the clarity of the actions of the many people who helped us and I gain once again the proper perspective on life. In times of distress, I have used it to help me get through and overcome tough times—for example, when my father died in 1993 and when my mother came down with cancer. The most important thing is to never give up.
“Half Dome forced me to really turn inward and find a purpose for why I am here. Because of the person I am, being very deeply involved in natural wonders and having a spiritual outlook on life, everything about the strike at Half Dome has deep meaning for me—the place where it happened, the way it happened, the time in my life when it happened, the different ways it affected people.
“I think everyone, if they live with awareness and become wise enough, will recognize some event, incident, or chance happening in their life that transforms them and drives them to live life the very best that they can from that time forward.
“For me, it was that moment.”
APPENDIX
Safety Guidelines for Lightning
Of all the weather-related phenomena, lightning kills and injures more people than any other, with the exception of floods. As seen in the tragedies on Half Dome and in Kings Canyon on July 27, 1985, persons tend to seek shelter when caught in a thunderstorm and driving rains. They may also believe it’s safer to be under some cover, such as rock enclosures or a tree, than out in the open if lightning strikes. (Golfers are particularly prone to do this.) But small caves, tall trees, rock enclosures and outcroppings, “chimneys” located on rock walls—each can become a death trap if lightning strikes in the vicinity. (A large cave can offer safety but only if you stay in the middle, away from the walls.) It’s far safer to stay out in the open and get wet.
Here are some additional crucial safety principles:*
All thunderstorms produce lightning and are dangerous.
The outdoors is the most dangerous place to be during a lightning storm. At the first indication of an impending storm, go inside to a completely enclosed building (not a carport, open garage, or covered patio) or into a hard-topped vehicle.
Lightning can strike as far as ten miles away from any rainfall, and can travel sideways for up to ten miles.
If you hear thunder, you are in danger from lightning.
If the air starts buzzing and your hair bristles, you are in immediate danger and should adhere to the principles below.
If caught outdoors, seek the lowest point and be the lowest point. Do not be the tallest or second tallest object during a lightning storm. Avoid tall trees (be at least twice as far from a tall tree as the height of the tree). If in an open area, crouch down on the balls of your feet.
Avoid being near or touching any metal.
If you’re with a group, stay several yards away from other people.
Get out of water, and out of small boats and canoes. If you’re caught in a boat, crouch down in the center of the boat away from metal hardware. Don’t stand in or near puddles of water.
Wait at least thirty minutes after the last clap of thunder before leaving shelter, even with blue sky and sunshine.
The safest measures to follow with lightning are awareness and prevention. Avoid being caught in precarious circumstances.
IF THE HIKERS IN Yosemite and Kings Canyon that day knew and followed the above principles, their calamities most certainly would have been avoided.
FOOTNOTE
*These principles of Lightning Safety are mainly those of the National Weather Service
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I AM ENORMOUSLY GRATEFUL to all those persons who helped me complete this book, from the first stages of research to the final phrasing. First I want to thank each of the individuals who played a role in the events and who assisted me in telling their story. They are: Adrian Esteban, Linda (Crozier) Ghilarducci, Bill Pippey Bruce Weiner, Mike Hoog, Rick Pedroncelli, Dan Crozier, Karl Buchner, Steve Ellner, Brian Cage, Steve White, Monroe Bridges, Paul Kolbenschlag, Zip Cotter, Clu Cotter, Ken Bokelund, Rob Foster, Al Major, Maggie (Newma
n) Dias, Bill Bryant, Colin Campbell, Scott Jackson, Jim Reilly Gary Colliver, John Dill, Ron Mackie, Scott Emmerich, Dan Horner, Paul Ducasse, Mike Mayer, Dan Dellinges, Jim Tucker, Jennifer Corcoran, Marvin Tal-bert, Steven King, Debbie Bird, Robert Hensel, and Dr. Howard Klein. I also wish to express my deep appreciation to all those who provided information and/or critiqued what I wrote. In no particular order they are: Jim Snyder, Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, Paul Engstrom, Rick Donker, Bob Kinkead, Jim Mongillo, John Little, Jennifer Madgic, Dr. Marsh McLean, Dave Cone, Dr. Phil McLean, Jeff Rennicke, Randall Boone, Sally Howell, Liana Holmberg, Mary Heldman, John Nagle, Kris Fister, Don Coelho, Edward Schieler, Dolores Schieler, Alyza Salomon, Mike Peckner, Richard Keady Charles R “Butch” Farabee Jr., Mike Harding, Karen Little, Sarah Madgic, Richard Kithil Jr., Dr. Rob Hamilton, Jason Thrasher, Dave Toal, Felicia Eth, Howard Boyer, Darryl Brock, Lydia Bird, Sherry Symington, Bill Contardi, Walt Simmons, Mike Acker, Marilyn Young, Ruth Rowe, Ed Robertson, Diana Thrasher, Doug Madgic, Liz Robbins, Royal Robbins, Jim Erickson, Art Hig-bee, Ron Schultz, Phil Pochoda, Kirk Madgic, Richard Baumann, Marc Soares, Jed Mattes, Linda Eade, Leonard Coyne, Buck Tilton, Sarah Rabkin, and of course my wife, Diane, who as always provided supportive companionship and sage counsel at every step of this journey.
Lastly, I wish to express my gratitude to the publisher, Peter Burford, who quickly saw the power of this story and who has been a delight to work with. I doubt an author could find a more encouraging and supportive publisher.
Table of Contents
MAIN CHARACTERS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
INTRODUCTION
1 THE LEADERS
2 THE DOME
3 THE HIKERS
4 THE CLIMBERS
5 THE STORM
6 FIRST STRIKE
7 SECOND STRIKE
8 RESCUE
9 RECOVERY
10 AFTERMATH
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX Safety Guidelines for Lightning
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS