Posted on 07/24/2024 10:26:20 AM PDT by NohSpinZone
On July 13, during a heavy rainstorm in Yosemite National Park, an Arizona State University student slipped and fell to her death from the Half Dome cables.
Park officials did not issue a statement about the death and declined to comment for this story. But Jonathan Rohloff — who was descending the cables with his 20-year-old daughter Grace when she slipped — confirmed that she did not survive.
“Grace was such a beautiful soul,” he said in a phone interview with SFGATE. “She deserves to have her story told.”
The father-daughter duo had hiked together countless times and over thousands of miles — up to Angels Landing in Zion National Park, down into the Grand Canyon and all over mountains across their home state of Arizona. So when Grace secured a permit to hike Half Dome through the daily lottery system on July 11, they were ecstatic.
They cleared their schedules to drive from Phoenix to Yosemite the following day, and on the day after that, they set out on the strenuous 16-mile trail at about 8 a.m. A ranger told them there were storms in the forecast, and at times, they did notice clouds overhead. But when the pair reached the bottom of Half Dome’s famous cables a little after noon, the sky was perfectly clear, Rohloff said.
They proceeded with other hikers up the 400-foot stretch of the trail supported by the cable system. When they arrived at the top, the panoramic views of Yosemite Valley and the High Sierra were outstanding. As Rohloff snapped photos of his daughter, he marveled at how beautiful and fearless she was. Grace told her father she was amazed to have climbed Half Dome — an item on her bucket list — and that she loved him.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Interesting observation. Overconfidence maybe?
I’ve climbed up and down Half Dome multiple times using these cables. Easy peasy and done thousands of times per year by all sorts of people young and old. Not dangerous at all. The advice I would give would be to have shoes with good traction and a pair of sturdy gloves. There is usually a pile of gloves at the bottom of the cables but there are typically pretty torn up. Great view of the Valley from the top and well worth the climb.
Leather soled dress shoes probably not the right gear I presume. Looks very steep. Wonder how the difficulty rating is compared to other park hikes/climbs like Angel’s Landing in Zion.
“ranger told them there were storms in the forecast”
They were warned
Also “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”
The approach to the cables has a slope of about 38% (or roughly 21 degrees) for a quarter mile.The cable section itself, which is the final 400 feet to the summit, is the steepest part at around 45-50 degrees.
Some sources describe certain portions of the cable route as having up to a 60-degree incline, though this may refer to short, particularly steep sections rather than the average.
“Overconfidence maybe?”
“Dad, my shoes are so slippery,” Rohloff remembered her saying. He tried to calm her nerves, ...
“Not dangerous at all.”
Not true in a heavy rainstorm / hailstorm.
May God have mercy on her and comfort those who mourn.
Still, she should hold to the cable.
If the shoes were too slippery, she should take them off.
I hope. she was descending facing the rocks. I have seen a lot of people who were descending steep rocks face forward, kind of like walking down the gentle slope. This is very hard and dangerous. When the slope gets steeper, pass some point, you have to turn around and descend backwards. The way she felt, I am not sure she was doing that.
I thought the highline trail at Glacier was bad.
Only the first quarter mile - did that shrouded in clouds with six foot visibility. It didn’t help much.
Grace Rohloff? Truth really is stranger than fiction.
Yeah was talking about that start assuming starting at logan pass. Path with cable handrail and straight drop. There is a video online about someone who had to climb down onto a little ledge because of a grizzly walking that trail.
Other spots with streams running on the trail with a drop did not bother me as much. Sat and ate lunch without another hiker and not seeing any signs of civilization. It was a great hike.
I was born and raised in the mountains.
I dont climb any mountains..
Sorry...I just ain’ t that stupoid.
So what happened?! Just a simple but fatal slip or misstep?! So sad….
Works for Bob Lee as well as hikers?!
I would think a safety harness or a Prussian sling a requirement.
Oh to die "in the saddle".
“The bigger worry up there is getting struck by lightning.”
Have you read the book “Shattered Air” about that group of foolish young men who climbed Half Dome during a thunder storm?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.