CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK : Paraplegic Climber to Leave Ranger Post

The paraplegic mountaineer who climbed Yosemite’s Half Dome and El Capitan is quitting his job as a park ranger to spend more time speaking and training for the Disabled Olympics. “I’m leaving Yosemite, but my spirit is not,” said Mark Wellman, 31, who with partner Mike Corbett scaled the 2,200-foot Half Dome monolith last month. Wellman has been a ranger at Yosemite National Park since 1986, most recently developing a program for disabled skiers and advising the park about access improvements. Wellman, who plans to leave at the end of the month, wants to develop sports equipment for the disabled and spend more time speaking to groups, including schools and corporations.