Posted on 03/08/2018 2:09:45 PM PST by nickcarraway
Andrew Foster lay his body on top of wife Lucy as the rocks began to fall down on top of them
A climber from Wales died after selflessly shielding his wife from falling rocks at Yosemite National Park, an inquest heard.
Andrew Foster, 32, was killed when 250 cubic metres of rock fell from the face of the El Capitan monolith on September 27 last year.
Gloucestershire Coroners Court heard Mr Foster was seen running back to the rockfall to protect his wife, Lucy Foster, 28, and dived on top of her saving her life.
The pair, who lived in Cardiff, were on a week-long climbing trip to the national park with another British couple.
Mr and Mrs Foster had just had lunch and were returning to their campsite when the rock plummeted including boulders described as the size of vehicles from a height of 200 metres on top of them.
In a report from the National Park Service, which was read to the court, eyewitnesses described Mrs Foster telling them afterwards: He saved me.
Moments after leaving, the first rockfall began to take place. Witnesses who were climbing in the area described the rocks as the size of vehicles, the report said.
Lucy was walking approximately 50 metres behind Andrew when they heard the rocks begin to fall above them.
Andrew was called a hero by his heartbroken family. WALES NEWS SERVICE Andrew yelled back to Lucy to run. As she began to run she lost her footing on the uneven terrain, causing her to fall to the ground.
While on the ground Lucy began to hear large rocks strike the ground near her.
After yelling to Lucy and witnessing her fall to the ground, Andrew ran back to Lucy, who was still on the ground.
Andrew lay his body on top of Lucy, shielding her body from the rocks as they began to fall down on top of them.
As the dust settled and the rocks stopped falling, Lucy saw Andrew was now lying beside her.
Lucy was partially trapped by rocks on her legs. Lucy was able to successfully free herself and began shouting for help.
The inquest heard that the Fosters were caught in the first rockfall shortly before 2pm, with another six happening later.
Other climbers who witnessed the accident alerted the emergency services and Mr Foster was pronounced dead at 4pm.
A postmortem examination in the US concluded Mr Foster died from cranio-cerebral injuries and no details of the injuries Mrs Foster suffered were disclosed.
After the accident, Mrs Foster was airlifted to the trauma unit of a local hospital where her condition was stabilised.
Assistant coroner Caroline Saunders recorded a conclusion that Mr Foster died as a result of an accident, saying she had heard no evidence that he was not suitably prepared for the climb or that the authorities had any warnings to avoid the area.
Andrew and Lucy announcing their engagement The evidence shows that Andrew and Lucy began climbing El Capitan at about 7.15am and at 8am embarked on the east buttress route, she said.
The climb was not straightforward and was taking longer than expected and so, sensibly, they chose to pause, have some food, and made plans to return to base.
Shortly afterwards they were caught in an unexpected rockfall.
Andrew was aware that his wife Lucy was in danger and took the loving and selfless act of protecting her from the fall using his own body to shield her from the rocks.
In the event Andrew suffered fatal injuries and despite the emergency and rescue services being called it is clear the injuries were immediately unsurvivable.
Mr Foster proposed to his wife, who is originally from Shropshire, during a skiing holiday in the Alps in 2015 and they married the following year.
Mr Foster, who grew up in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before attending Cardiff University, worked for clothing company Patagonia and was previously employed by outdoor store Up And Under.
bummer
:-(
Greater live hath no man...
Greater love!!!
Honor.
Men do that sort of thing. Women don’t appreciate them until it’s too late.
God bless this best-of-husbands.
Man, this grabs my heart.
May God save him and make him glorious in His Kingdom.
Ephesians 5:25 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Ephesians 5:28 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
ping
I think she appreciated him before saving her life.
I climbed over there a few times. Rocks come down every 10-15 minutes. They sizzle like a fastball, hit the previously fallen boulders and shatter with a crack like rifle shot. Its a bit like Russian roulette.
“Men do that sort of thing. Women dont appreciate them until its too late.”
I have a man who would take a bullet for me. I appreciate him and tell him so...DAILY.
We’re out here. :)
He died a hero.
Eternal rest grant unto Andrew O Lord
and may perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul
and all the souls
of the faithfully departed,
through the Mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Bummer.
He was her rock. And her salvation.
RIP.
Amen!
I read an article recently. The three jobs of manhood are to protect, procreate and provide. Part of protection is to realize that we are expendable.
A true man. RIP.
The world is better because of him.
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