A granite map of El Capitan

What at first glance might seem like a fun game may play a key role in our safety, both for climbers on the mountain and for tourists in the valley below. According to National Geographic, which funded the research, in recent years a dozen people have died due to rock fall (the latest, unfortunately, at the beginning of June, 28-year old Englishman Felix Joseph Kiernan while climbing El Capitan's East Buttress). This new tool might now help prevent further casualties.

Putnam's fieldwork was helped by other climbers - almost thirty - who collaborated with him in this project. The latest warning comes from them and via the internet: a suspended, loose flake immediately after the King Swing and the Boot Flake on The Nose. Bearing this in mind, there may well be some coordinated efforts to remove the block one day, as has already happened in the past, on the most famous big wall in the world.


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