TRAPPED ON MOUNTAIN LEDGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1935, Page 4

TRAPPED ON MOUNTAIN LEDGE

COUPLE’S ORDEAL AND RESCUE (BY CABLE —PBESS ASSN.—COPYBIGHT.] YOSEMITE, August 7. A small group of National Park Patrolmen dared death to-day in order to rescue a young woman, Elizabeth Lorimer, and a companion, Robert Pate, from a narrow ledge on a sheer granite face of the “Half Dome” Mountain. On this ledge they were marooned last night, 2000 feet over the Mirror Lake. The two became trapped when they were lost, while climbing. They were unable either to ascend or to descend, because a mis-step would have meant.certain death. They built a small brush fire, signalling their predicament. Because of the danger from rock slides, the rescuers laboriously climbed to the top of the mountain, where they improvised a stretcher. This was lowered to the ledge. Then fearful of dislodging any rock fragments, by attempting to pull the stretcher up, the rescuers instead guided first the girl, and then the man down the entire distance to the bottom of the precipice. The woman, who was lightly clad, suffered from exposure. Her companion is in even a more serious condition, because he has a broken shoulder and a gashed head.