A well known, record-holding rock climber and East Bay resident spent the night on the wall of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park after he fell while climbing Thursday afternoon, said Scott Gediman of the National Park Service.
Rescue crews with a helicopter worked to extricate Hans Florine, 53, off the wall Friday morning and eventually took him to a hospital in Fresno, where he was recovering later in the day.
Florine suffered "significant" injuries after the fall, according to Gediman. Yosemite officials did not disclose the extent of Florine's injuries due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Florine posted a photo of himself on Instagram Thursday from the wall of El Capitan with the caption "Well, there is a rescue going on, on El Capitan. And it's me. I think I broke my leg. Rescuers please be safe."
Officials said the incident happened too late in the afternoon to rescue Florine and he had to spend the night on the El Capitan wall where the temperatures can get as low as 40 degrees.
"It's a very exposed and obscure place to be rescued from," said Florine's co-worker Scott Nunley. "There's a lot of ropework that goes into that."
Florine is a manager at Diablo Rock Gym in Concord.
El Capitan rises over 3,000 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley, according to the NPS, and it is a favorite spot for rock climbers.
Florine holds a climbing record alongside partner Alex Honnold for climbing the El Capitan in 2 hours and 23 minutes.
In 2016, Florine released a book titled "On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite's Most Iconic Climb" where he said he climbed the El Capitan over 100 times and detailed his most dangerous and death-defying climbs.
"He's a cheerful guy, he's always looking to be positive and uplifting," said Nunley. "He’s compassionate, he's caring, he likes to do hard things."
Photo Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images, File
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