Climber died as he shielded wife from rock fall

A BRITISH climber died after selflessly shielding his wife from falling rocks at Yosemite National Park, an inquest heard.

Andrew Foster, 32, was killed when rock fell from the face of the El Capitan monolith on September 27 last year.

Gloucestershire Coroner’s 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.”

The report went on: “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.

“Andrew lay his body on top of Lucy, shielding her body from the rocks as they began to fall down on top of them.”

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. A post-mortem examination in the US concluded Mr Foster died from head injuries.

Assistant coroner Caroline Saunders recorded a conclusion that Mr Foster died as a result of an accident.