Cliff Hanger: California mountain climber rescued from steep granite slope

  

August 2, 2012 (WLS) -- A lost mountain climber spent more than two days clinging to side of a 10,000-foot granite face before being rescued.

Larry Bishop took a wrong turn on his descent from Dog Tooth Peak in California and wound up stuck on the granite face of the mountain.

Unable to climb back up or descend further, he was left holding on to his precarious perch for two full days and nights. He fought hunger, thirst, and exhaustion before rescuers arrived.

"I basically hoped that I had the stamina and the determination to bury the pain and hang on," Bishop said.

Bishop considers himself an experienced climber, but he admits he wasn't sure he would survive, even writing notes to his family in case he fell before rescuers could get to him.

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