I'm referring here to the accident reported to have occurred on 6/2/2018 at El Capitan. See Two Expert Climbers Killed in Fall From El Cap’s Freeblast:
On the morning of June 2 at 8 a.m., while speed climbing on the lower pitches of the Salathé Wall on El Capitan—a section called Freeblast—two highly experienced climbers, Tim Klein and Jason Wells, were involved in a fatal accident. The team was simul-climbing through Pitch 9 or 10, 5.7 terrain approaching Mammoth Terraces, when the incident occurred. A scream was heard and both climbers fell, roped together, 1,000 feet to the ground.
"Both climbers fell, roped together." Boy! Adrenalin junkies get a charge out of risk taking. But can you imagine the feeling, although it would not last long, of being hauled down a 1,000 foot drop by some other climber to whom you are tethered?
The momentum of two grown men falling at terminal velocity would exert hundreds of pounds of thrust. It's hard to envision any climbing anchor strong enough to stop them.
They were supposed to have been simul-climbing. Here's a primer on that particular technique: Advanced Techniques: Simul-Climbing and Short-Fixing with this warning: "Falling while simul-climbing is incredibly dangerous because there is no fixed anchor to take the force of the fall."
You don't say.
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10:17 AM 6/3/2018
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