YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (KGO) -- Two expert climbers fell off El Capitan this weekend and died. It's the third serious climbing or hiking accident in Yosemite in the past month.Tim Klein, 42, and Jason Wells, 45, both elite climbers, fell 1,000 feet to their death Saturday morning while climbing El Capitan. "They were on one of the easiest parts of the route and something weird happened," explained Brady Robinson, one of Jason Wells' best friends. Robinson spoke to ABC7 from Wells' home in Boulder, Colorado, where he was consoling Wells' wife, who is also a climber.Robinson climbed El Cap a few years ago with Wells and Klein, but Robinson says this weekend the pair were with another climber, Kevin Prince. Robinson spoke to Prince on the phone after the accident who said that Klein and Wells were above him simul-climbing on one rope, while he was below on a separate rope. "For some reason Tim disconnected from Kevin's rope and left it on a piece of gear and was doing something. Now we don't know what, but when they fell they were not connected to Kevin's system and he was completely unaware of what had even happened," said Robinson. "Their accident occurred right here," said Yosemite climber, Hans Florine, while pointing to a photo of El Capitan. Florine manages Diablo Rock Gym in Concord and has scaled El Cap more than 160 times. But, a month ago, Florine fell 20 feet down the granite cliff and broke both his legs.According to the National Park Service, more than 100 climbing accidents occur in Yosemite every year, but deaths are more rare.Florine worries the recent spate of accidents will scare people off climbing. "I understand what it looks like to people out there, that two people just died and here I am with broken legs and I'm one of the most experienced people on El Cap, but I just can say these are my first broken bones in 35 years of climbing. "Klein has scaled El Capitan more than 100 times. He was a teacher in Los Angeles County and a father of two. His wife, JJ Klein, spoke to KABC in Los Angeles. "He's left a legacy that our sons and many who saw him as a father figure will continue to impact others with." Mrs. Klein said she believes a gear bag fell from above and caused the accident.<doc-sep>Two climbers have fallen to their deaths while climbing the rock face known as "El Capitan" in California's Yosemite National Park. Jason Wells, 46, and Tim Klien, 42, died trying to scale the 900m-tall granite formation using the Free Blast route on Saturday morning. National Park Rangers received multiple 911 calls about the fall at around 8.15am but neither climber survived. No further details have been released about how Mr Wells, from Boulder, Colorado, and Mr Klien, of Palmdale, California, lost their lives. They were reportedly training for a speed ascent of the rock formation with the simul (simultaneous) climbing method. The accident follows the death of a hiker who slipped while climbing the granite cliffs of Half Dome in Yosemite last week. British climber Andrew Foster, 32, was killed at El Capitan last September when he was crushed by falling rocks in front of his wife Lucy. There are more than 100 accidents in the park every year, most of them involving experienced climbers, according to the National Park Service. "At least 80 per cent of the fatalities and many injuries, were easily preventable," wrote Yosemite Ranger John Dill in his guide Staying Alive. "In case after case, ignorance, a casual attitude, and/or some form of distraction proved to be the most dangerous aspects of the sport." World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut.<doc-sep>The incident baffled Robinson, who is the executive director of the Access Fund, an organization that works to protect climbing access in the United States. The section of the Freeblast Route where the duo fell was a relatively easy part of the ascent, Robinson said. But it’s known for its chunks of rocks that can occasionally become loose. Additionally, the technique the pair were employing, a type of speed climbing called “simul-climbing,” is an advanced one that becomes “inherently riskier” when a third person is added, Robinson said.<doc-sep>
And in 2015, Tyler Gordon fell to his death while climbing the Nose. Mr. Griebel said Mr. Klein had climbed El Capitan — known as El Cap among climbers — more than 100 times. Mr. Wells had also climbed it many times, he said. “It’s safe to say they knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. Brady Robinson, the executive director of the Access Fund, an organization that seeks to protect climbing areas in the United States, said Mr. Wells was one of his best friends, and they often climbed together on routes in Boulder. El Capitan is “much bigger than anything around here, which is why he liked it,” Mr. Robinson said. “What he used to do was he would fly out on a Friday, climb El Cap twice — once on Saturday and once on Sunday.” “That is almost unheard-of,” he added. Mr. Wells was “just one of these undercover world-class athletes that almost nobody knew about.” Mr. Robinson said Mr. Wells and Mr. Klein were using a technique called simul-climbing in which both climbers are attached by a rope and move at the same time to go at a faster pace. They were doing this with a third person, a variation on an already rare technique that is “inherently riskier” than regular climbing, Mr. Robinson said. The third person, who was not identified by the National Park Service, was on a separate rope and anchor, and not securely attached to the same system being used by Mr. Wells or Mr. Klein, according to Mr. Robinson, and was unharmed.