Strangers tied their gear into a rope and saved two climbers

Two climbers who slipped on the granite chains section of Half Dome last month survived because strangers tied their gear together into a rope. The engaged couple were descending the steepest stretch of the Yosemite National Park climb, the part that requires a permit and a strong stomach, when the woman lost her footing and began sliding toward the drop. She stopped just short of the edge. Her fiance left the chains to reach her and got stuck too. Brian and Ian Moran had already finished their own descent when they heard her scream. They expected to watch her go over. Instead, along with David Morgenstern and other hikers they had never met, they connected harnesses, slings and carabiners into a makeshift line. The group pulled the man up first, then regrouped for the woman, who had slid farther and had less to hold. Both walked off the rock.