One of my coworkers took a bear observation report today from some rock climbers. They were climbing the second pitch of Yosemite Valley’s popular Bishop’s Terrace, which is a two-pitch rock climb, when they looked up and saw a bear. This climb is one difficult enough that it would be difficult for novice rock climbers, and most would use ropes and other forms of protection (an unroped fall would probably cause serious injury or death).

This isn’t the first report of rock climbing bears, but it’s still surprising.