A British climber crushed to death in a rock fall at Yosemite national park which left his wife seriously injured was an experienced climber and outdoor adventurer on a dream holiday.



Andrew Foster, 32, and his wife Lucy, 28, were hit by more than 1,000 tons of rock as they prepared for a climb at the end of a three-week trip to the Californian park.



The couple, from Cardiff, are believed to have been scouting the route on the El Capitan rock face when a “sheet” of granite measuring 40m by 20m fell from a height of about 200m on Wednesday.

Andrew was killed instantly while his wife was rescued and airlifted to hospital where she is understood to be in a critical condition.

The couple, who met at Cardiff University, shared a passion for outdoor adventures, and had climbed some of the most difficult rock faces in the UK. They had told friends it was their “big dream” to test themselves in the Yosemite national park. The trip was, reportedly, planned as part of their first wedding anniversary celebrations.



They flew to the US on 11 September with friends who were also experienced climbers, and had blogged about their preparations and training for the adventure.



Andrew, originally from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, who worked as a sales rep for the outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia, was pictured on Instagram in the national park looking exhausted but smiling on the day before the tragedy.

He and his wife, originally from Market Drayton, Shropshire, were also keen skiers, and he proposed in the French Alps in March 2015. They married in a yurt in August 2016.



On their blog, Cam and Bear, they wrote: “We are a young married couple who enjoy nothing more than getting out and having adventures in the mountains together. We are not extreme athletes and describe ourselves simply as passionate weekend warriors. We hope to inspire other people to get out and experience the natural world.”



Alex Beasley, Patagonia’s country manager for UK and Ireland, said: “It is with much sadness that we mourn the loss of our dear friend and colleague Andrew Foster, who was killed in a tragic accident in Yosemite.

“He was a much-loved member of our team and a passionate climber, mountaineer and skier who loved being in the outdoors.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Lucy, and their families. We offer them our deepest sympathies.”



Andrew often worked out of the Up and Under climbing store in Cardiff.



The couple had practised for their trip to Yosemite by climbing cliffs in Cornwall and Pembrokeshire and Lucy told friends they were both “Yosemite virgins”.



On their return from America they planned to travel around the Alps for a year “skiing, climbing and being extreme” and had bought a van for the journey.

Fellow workers at Up and Under later put a statement on their website describing former worker Andy as “inspirational”.

It said: “Andy Foster was an inspirational member of the Up and Under family. He was a highly regarded member of staff for five years, before he took a job with Patagonia. He remained a dedicated friend of Up and Under, and was regularly to be found in the store.

“His passion for the outdoors, and mountains in particular, was enormous and infectious. Andy and Lucy’s intentions upon returning from Yosemite were, with the help of Andy’s father, to covert a van into a motorhome to enable them to explore the European Alps for the next twelve months

“It was then our hope that Andy would return to Up and Under in a part time consultative role, whilst he also chased other ambitions. Andy was highly respected, loved and his loss will be sorely felt by us all. Our thoughts are with Lucy and his family.”

In a Facebook tribute, friend Jess Spate described him as “always cheerful” and everyone who had climbed with him would remember “his good humour and unrivalled sense of adventure”.



“There’s nobody I’d rather climb a rapidly thawing frozen waterfall with at 2am on a work night. Nobody better to play hangman with at midnight in Cardiff City Hall, waiting to impersonate beautiful female ninjas. Nobody better to be topping out of a mountain route with when the weather turned”. He added: “Go hard my friend. May the skies always be clear for you and the thermometer stay below -5.”

Scott Gediman, from Yosemite national park, speaking, on Thursday said: “With all the craziness I don’t exactly know where they were going but chances are they were going up. From what I understand the were buried under rock… they were crushed by falling rocks.”

They were the only known casualties despite being with a group of other climbers when the series of collapses struck.



One witness, Mike Kane, tweeted that the collapse was “very loud”, adding it was a “miracle more [were] not hurt”. A second rockfall at the site on Thursday left one person injured.



A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are in contact with the local authorities and providing assistance to both families at this very difficult time.”

