3. attempt on big wall - El Capitan 7/94, with Stephen Ross.
We were hoping to do Tribal Rite.  Stephen located a topo, beta,
and some extra gear from Vince DePasque.  We settled on starting
on the Nose route.
- Nose p1 - C led
- Nose p2 - C led up about 30' then fell 12' onto ledge, hurting back.
Barely able to self-rescue.  Spent 2-3 weeks in bed recovering.

   At the end of May '96, I wasn't climbing, but my friend Stephen Ross
died in a climbing accident in Yosemite.  Stephen and I tried to do an El
Cap route 2 years ago, but I fell on on the second pitch of the Nose and 
hurt my back.  He was able to rescue me and drive me home.  Stephen died 
leading Beverley's Tower at the Cookie in Yosemite, when he grabbed the 
single piece of protection he had placed (a mini Camalot), and it 
pulled.  Like my previous fall, I guess he just didn't have adequate 
protection in when things went wrong.  That's just the realities of what 
can happen in this sport when one is not careful enough.  I often think 
of him when I'm considering doing a big wall, and I'm sure this will 
continue.