by Ed » Mon Oct 03, 2022 9:16 am
Will be interesting to see if there is additional and more conclusive information.
There is not a lot of loose rock on Tahquitz, but if people saw a refrigerator-sized boulder falling, it certainly happened. And could explain a lot. I can't see a rappel dislodging a boulder that size, but perhaps a long fall by someone the size of Gavin Escobar could.
Were they rappelling? People today use the same device, typically an ATC, for both belaying and rappelling. Rappels on Tahquitz are rare. You climb to the top and descend unroped via a non-technical route (which admittedly has a Class 3 ledge that usually scared me more than the climb). If you rappel down, you have to do multiple rappels. At the end of each rappel, you have to set up an anchor to which you trust your life, and leave anchor gear behind. I can't see a rappel unless you are backing off a climb.
The range of difficulty on Tahquitz climbs is enormous. People can undertake a climb that is beyond their level, and they can lose the route. But it should not happen very often. Even in the 1970's the climbs were well-rated and well-described in the Chuck Wilts guidebook. I went off route once at Suicide, and consider myself lucky to have survived. Nobody to blame but myself. And, as always, a good learning experience.
And perhaps they were not climbing or rappelling at the time, simply fiddling with setting up an anchor on some ledge, neither secured, and then something happens: rock fall, lightning strike, or somebody slips and takes the other person down. Or perhaps they were trying to take photos. That is something I gave up on very early in my climbing career. if the situation made for an interesting photo, it was also one where I wanted no distractions.