Human chain over the abyss: how a couple of tourists were rescued on the ropes of Half Dome rock

Shortly after 2 p.m. on October 12, a 20-year-old hiker from Poland was rappelling down a section of Half Dome when she lost her balance and slid down the smooth granite to a nearly vertical cliff. Her fiancé had gone off the trail trying to reach her, but he also got stuck on the exposed rock, unable to get back up.

As the clouds closed in on the dome, other climbers quickly organized a rescue. Twenty-year-old student Ian Moran and his father began gathering equipment from among the people on the ropes: someone provided a rope, while others donated their own loops, belay devices, and carabiners. Air Force Reserve Officer David Morgenstern, a firefighter and rock climber, checked the knots and secured a makeshift line to one of the rope posts.

As light snow began to fall, Moran rappelled down to the man, while Morgenstern helped the woman, and the group pulled them both back onto the ropes. At 2:56 p.m., a National Park Service ranger met the couple at the base of the site, safe and sound.