Hiker Falls to Death from Half Dome Cables

It’s the first time since 2010, but a hiker fell to his death on Monday while ascending Yosemite National Park’s famous Half Dome trail, the US National Park Service said.

The hiker was on the trail’s Half Dome cables, the park service said in a statement.

He was hiking with another person during thunder storm activity around 4:30 p.m. when he slipped and fell.

The cables take hikers up the last 100 metres to the summit of Half Dome, which rises nearly 1,800 metres above California’s Yosemite Valley.

The cables are installed each summer to assist the climbs of thousands of hikers who make the popular round trip.

Park Rangers were notified and went to the scene to assist the second hiker, the NPS said. The missing hiker’s body was found around 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. His identity will be released after his family is notified.

The Half Dome cables will be opening for the season this Friday, May 11! The daily permit lottery will begin tomorrow, May 9. The trail will be wet and icy in places and visitors planning to ascend Half Dome should prepare for wet and cool hiking conditions. Read more here: https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/news/half-dome-cables-in-yosemite-national-park-will-be-in-place-for-visitors-on-may-11-2018-daily-lottery-for-permits-will-open-wednesday-may-9-2018.htm #YosemiteNationalPark #HalfDome #YOSAR

A post shared by Yosemite National Park (@yosemitenps) on May 8, 2018 at 5:08pm PDT