Man Convicted of Abusing Grandchildren During Hike

Man Convicted of Abusing Grandchildren During Hike

Mayhem - another hiker falls from Half Dome

Ryan Leeder, 23, of Los Gatos is the latest victim. He apparently fell from the sheer face rather than the cables as is usually the case. I can't get near the face myself. It's 4,000 feet straight down.
Man Dies in plunge from Yosemite's Half Dome

Rock Slide hits cabins in Yosemite

Staircase Fall, the site of today's rock Fall - From Wikipedia

A rock slide struck cabins near the Curry Village ampitheater this morning.

There are some unconfirmed reports of minor injuries. Update - there were some injuries, the worst being a boy who had a head laceration that required stitches.

Another slide happened there yesterday and Yosemite Blog reports that the perimeter around the cabins was closed. Hopefully it remained closed until this AM. This slide appears to be much larger than yesterday's. Update: this slide was reported to be from a 1800 cubic yards slab, about the size of 12 garbage trucks.

We'll update this story with more as it comes in.

Update 1: Here is a Google Earth bookmark of the area.

Update 2: Here are some photos from the AP.

Update on Fossett Plane Crash - better location data

Crews are rushing to recover remains today as a snowstorm is bearing down on the Sierras this evening. The storm is expected to dump up to 2 feet of snow over the area. After that, it's very likely that the area will be covered in snow until early June. Hopefully that will keep the area safe from scavengers for the winter, both human and not.

Thanks to reader krin, we were inspired to create a new Google Earth map by overlaying the handout topo map handed out by the Madera County Sheriff. I think we got it pretty close this time. Viewed in Google Earth, it gives a much better picture of the crash area.

His items were likely spread around by animals. There are many bears and other mammals at that elevation (9700 ft) during the summer months.

We understand that the California Department of Justice is awaiting delivery of the remains and that DNA testing will take a few weeks or so. 

At the same time the NTSB is doing an investigation into the cause of the crash. We've been hiking all through this area. It's very near the John Muir Trail. and know pilots who fly there. It's a very sketchy place to fly due to the strong mountain winds. The most likley cause is that he was blown into the mountain.

We'll keep you posted.

Human remains found at Steve Fossett crash site

photo of Mt. Ritter from my John Muir Trail Set in Flickr

The NTSB confirms reports that some human remains were found in the debris field around the crash site of Steve Fossett. They did not elaborate but there were enough remains to do DNA testing. This should finally put all the wild conspiracy theories we've listened to over the past year. Hopefully this will give his wife Peggy some kind of solace. 

For a look around, download this Google Earth bookmark of the crash area.

R.I.P. Steve Fossett, the place you crashed is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. 

Update on Steve Fossett's plane location

photo from the LA Times

The FAA has published a GPS coordinate of the center of their search area. They issued a no-fly zone 9 miles in radius of this location. It's likely that this is the location where the items were discovered. The plane was apparently discovered 1/4 of a mile from this location.
Have a look in Google Maps.

Steve Fossett's Plane Found

The AP is reporting that a plane found last night has been identified as the Super Decathlon that Steve flew when he disappeared. It's unclear about exactly where the plane was found but it is reported to be just over the Madera County line east of Mammoth Lakes. Likely somewhere near the Minarets. No human remains have been found. The wreck appeared to be unsurvivable. It's possible that animals would have got to the remains and dragged them away or the plane came apart before crashing.
See more in the San Francisco Chronicle