Big Walls, Swift Waters: Epic Stories from Yosemite Search and Rescue  
Publisher: Yosemite Conservancy  |  yosemiteconservancy.org
Publication Date: July 11, 2017 Outdoors  |  224 pages  |  ISBN 978-1930238-74-9|  $22.99 paperback original  Full color with more than 200 photographs and illustration

June 10, 2017 - WHEN WE SAY “EPIC,” WE MEAN EPIC.

From the literal cliffhanger to the real raging waters, the stories in Big Walls, Swift Waters will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat.

Most of Yosemite National Park’s nearly four million annual visitors leave the park without a scratch. For a few, however, a vacation in this renowned land of cliffs and waterfalls takes a turn for the terrifying. That’s where the YOSAR team comes in.

Yosemite Search and Rescue, otherwise known as YOSAR, is one of the premiere search and rescue teams in the world. The men and women of YOSAR work around the clock, ready to respond at any hour in any weather. It’s not all helicopter heroics and plucking unlucky rock jocks off the mountain wall. It also means helping the teen with the busted ankle, finding the missing child, and rescuing the newlyweds whose raft implodes on a river.

Author and legendary YOSAR team member Butch Farabee relates tales of endurance and survival, misadventure and fatal consequences.

• A young hiker sets off on a winter day with no plan, no survival gear, not even a warm jacket. When he tumbles off a frozen trail, shattering bones, nobody even knows he is missing.

• High above the Valley floor, a climber is knocked unconscious by a falling rock; he dangles bleeding from the sheer rock wall.

• A family on a short hike realizes that their young son has wandered off. They search frantically but can find no sign of him. Fortunately, the brave men and women of Yosemite Search and Rescue are there to help.

A must-read for thrill-seekers, armchair travelers, outdoor adventurers, national park visitors, and expert explorers, Big Walls, Swift Waters will give readers the inside story on the elite YOSAR team, and provide inspiration (and information) for adventure.

About Butch Farabee
In his 34 years with the National Park Service, Charles R. “Butch” Farabee rose from protection ranger to superintendent and responded to more than 900 search and rescue missions. Ten years and 800 of those missions were in Yosemite National Park.


About Yosemite Conservancy
Through the support of donors, Yosemite Conservancy provides grants and support to Yosemite National Park to help preserve and protect Yosemite today and for future generations. Work funded by the Conservancy is visible throughout the park, in trail rehabilitation, wildlife protection, and habitat restoration. The Conservancy is also dedicated to enhancing the visitor experience and providing a deeper connection to the park through outdoor programs, volunteering, wilderness services, and its bookstore. Thanks to dedicated supporters, the Conservancy has provided more than $100 million in grants to Yosemite National Park.
Source: Yosemite Conservancy