“There is nothing you can do to guarantee your safety” – college student’s tragic death highlights the dangers of hiking Half Dome
Though thousands of people complete this iconic hike each year, the National Park Service warns hikers that it is innately risky
A college student fell to her death in Yosemite National Park on July 13, underscoring the inherent risk associated with hiking one of America’s most iconic rock formations.
Grace Rohloff, 20, an experienced hiker, was with her father Jonathan when the accident occurred. Rohloff tells San Francisco Gate that the pair had secured their permit to hike Half Dome only two days earlier and were excited to undertake the famous trail, which entails a 14-mile roundtrip hike using cables that are bolted into the rock to reach its 8,842ft summit.
Half Dome is notoriously treacherous when it rains due to its smooth granite surface, and Rohloff says rangers had warned the pair about incoming thunderstorms on the morning of their hike. However, skies were clear when they began their hike and the pair made it to the summit with no issues. The weather quickly changed, however, and the two hikers began what they hoped would be a hasty descent.
“A black cloud was rolling in like gangbusters,” recalls Rohloff.
“I was like, ‘We have got to get down now, because we don’t want to be up here with any rain. It rolled in literally out of nowhere.’”
The start of the cables leading up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, California
According to Rohloff, the pair’s descent was hampered by slower hikers ahead of them – the cable section is a single file hike and they felt uncomfortable asking if they could pass – and the rock soon turned slick. His daughter reportedly told Rohloff that the new hiking shoes she was wearing were slipping on the rock before falling 200 feet to her death.
“She just slid off to the side, right by me, down the mountain,” says Rohloff. “It happened so fast. I tried to reach my hand up, but she was already gone.”
