The National Park Service (NPS) on Friday announced three recent convictions for illegal BASE jumping in Yosemite.
“We do not tolerate illegal activity in Yosemite National Park,” Yosemite National Park Superintendent Raymond McPadden said. “Our law enforcement rangers remain efficient, effective and vigilant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
BASE jumping is prohibited in all national parks, but a small number of people engage in illegal jumps each year, “often placing themselves, rescuers and other visitors at serious risk,” the NPS said.
North Dome
On July 15, 2024, U.S. Park Rangers located Christopher Durrell at Mirror Lake after receiving a report that two people had jumped from an area near North Dome. Durrell admitted to BASE jumping from the Porcelain Wall and pleaded guilty.
Durrell was sentenced in September to 18 months of unsupervised probation, 40 hours of community service and was fined $600. His BASE canopy and wingsuit were also forfeited.
Joshua A. Iosue, who fled on foot after the North Dome BASE jump but was later identified and cited also pleaded guilty. He was sentenced earlier this month to two days in jail, 24 months of unsupervised probation and was fined $2,510.
“He is banned from entering Yosemite National Park during his probation,” the NPS said.
El Capitan
David Dunn suffered a severe equipment malfunction and collided with the wall of El Capitan before crash-landing at the base on July 21, 2020. Dunn, who had a previous conviction for the same offense in 1998, had to be rescued by NPS personnel.
After pleading guilty, Dunn was sentenced in September to two days in jail, 12 months of unsupervised probation, $760 in fines and restitution of $458.77 to cover the cost of his rescue. “He is banned from entering Yosemite during probation and was ordered to forfeit his parachute and harness,” the NPS said.
BASE jumping in Yosemite has been illegal since the mid-1980s. “The activity has led to numerous injuries, fatalities and high-risk rescues over the years, endangering both jumpers and rescuers,” the NPS said.
Earlier this month, 23-year-old Alaskan mountaineer Balin Miller fell to his death from Yosemite’s El Capitan during an apparent livestream.
A Yosemite-area photographer who witnessed the incident said that Miller was trying to free a stuck bag immediately before he fell, KTLA sister station KSEE reported.
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