Rangers Probe Yosemite Hiker’s Death in Fall Accident

Personal Injury – Local News June 13, 2009

Yosemite National Park – National Park Rangers are looking into the possible causes of death of an unidentified male hiker who fell off Yosemite’s famed Half Dome Saturday June 13.

National Ranger Scott Gediman said the accident was witnessed by other hikers at around 3 pm that day.It was not immediately known if the unidentified male hiker was alone or with a group.

Initial reports said the male hiker fell from the granite monolith however, there are indications he used the cable handrails that help climbers make the 17-mile roundtrip which begins in the Yosemite Valley and ascends nearly 5, 000 feet.

Gediman said the weather condition during that day also made it dangerous for hiking and climbing. Some 30 other Half Dome climbers were escorted down by rangers that evening.

“The weather was cold and cloudy, hail had been reported on Half Dome, and the granite became slippery”, Gediman reported.

The last reported death at Half Dome happened June 2007, involving a Japanese hiker who slipped off the cable.

The park estimates that about 50,000 hikers use the cable handrails to climb Half Dome each year.