Climber saved from tiny ledge on Yosemite’s El Capitan. See ‘incredible’ rescue
A climber was rescued after he fell onto a tiny ledge high up on the vertical granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, video shows.
Rescuers hoisted the climber from the ledge to a rescue helicopter hovering nearby, video shared by the park on Facebook shows.
“Incredible teamwork on El Capitan!” Yosemite National Park said in the Oct. 29 post.
Yosemite Search and Rescue inserted a rescuer on the wall via the rescue helicopter, which hovered nearby as lead rescuer Jesse McGahey harnessed up the climber to hoist him from the ledge to the helicopter “using a specialized toss-across technique — a precision maneuver that allows rescuers to reach climbers safely against sheer granite and strong winds,” the park said in the post.
McGahey also treated the climber’s injuries before evacuating them from the wall on Oct. 20, the post said.
“Thanks to the team’s swift response and expertise in high-angle rescue, the injured climber received urgent surgical care and is now recovering well,” officials said in the post. “Yosemite Search and Rescue’s skill and innovation in mountain rescue saves lives every year, and we’re proud to share that the climber has authorized the release of rescue footage showing the incredible teamwork behind this mission.”
The video shows McGahey securing the climber into the hoist system and as another rescuer asks whether they’re ready to go for a ride.
“We’re getting out of here,” the rescuer says as the climber lets out an excited yell as they’re hoisted into midair from the ledge to the helicopter.
“This is so awesome,” someone said in the comments.
“Amazing rescue,” another person said. “This team certainly is composed of heroes.”
Someone also shared video of the rescue they had filmed from below in the comments.
“Amazing! We witnessed and filmed the…rescue from below!” they said. “So impressive!”
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Climber saved from tiny ledge on Yosemite’s El Capitan. See ‘incredible’ rescue."
