A California woman died in a fall Sunday from the popular site in Zion National Park known as Angels Landing.
The victim, 55-year-old Nancy Maltez of Glendora, California, was reported to be hiking with family members early Sunday when she fell at about 8:30 a.m. The accident was reported by another hiker by cell phone.
She was believed to have stumbled and fallen from the north side of Angels Landing. Media reports indicate she fell a distance of about 1,000 feet, and search-and-rescue crews reached her body before noon.
The West Rim Trail from the Grotto to Scout Lookout, along with climbing routes on the north side of Angels Landing, are temporarily closed while an investigation by the park and the Washington County Sheriff's Department is completed.
There has been considerable discussion on theTraveler in recent months about the safety of the Angels Landing Trail. Prior to today's incident, the most recent fatal fall at that location was in 2007.
The park website includes the following information in a description of the Angels Landing Trail:
Caution: The route to Angels Landing involves travel along a steep, narrow ridge with support chains anchored intermittently along the route. Footing can be slippery even when the rock is dry Unevenly surfaced steps are cut into the rock with major cliff dropoffs adjacent. Keep off when it is wet, icy or thunderstorms are in the area. Plan to be off before dark. Younger children should skip this trail; older children must be closely supervised.
This accident will almost certainly revive the debate about the safety of the popular trail. According to the park website, "about 5 people" have died due to falls from Angels Landing in the 100 years since the park was established, but it is not the most dangerous trail in the park. Emerald Pools holds that unwelcome distinction with seven victims.
Comments
1) "I just returned from hiking Angels Landing yesterday 8-24-10. What an amazing experience."
Good job from anonymous poster for breaking it down in detail.
2)"A stumble can kill you on a sidewalk, a subway platform, or a bathtub, does that mean we should "rope up" to take a shower?"
Why do people continue to compare an activity like this to walking on a sidewalk or driving? 99.9% of all people who stumble and fall on a sidewalk will get up and walk away with a bruised body part and possibly a bruised ego.
100% of people who stumble and fall off Angel's Landing will die GUARANTEED.
Now, here's the biggest difference. Walking on a sidewalk, showering, driving and other everyday activities are fairly NECESSARY for most people to live their lives. Hiking up any trail, esp. a dangerous one liek this one, IS NOT . It's a choice.
Not necessarily. There are some areas where there are ledges or bushes that could conceivably catch a fall. Or stumble and fall down without falling off. Granted there are a lot of exposed areas where one could die or suffer grave injury.
We just came back from Angels Landing. It's an breathtaking place to hike. I had my hiking boots and friend of mine had a pair of sneakers. He is afraid of heights and wisely and courageously decided not to continue to the summit. There are many basic things needs to be considered to hike the place like this one: Some people could get dizzy at high altitude. I would discourage kids younger than 16. Hiking boots highly recommended. Pure pressure - we need be able to say no if we don't feel up to it. this is more difficult with a group of kids. Lean to practice the 3-point contacts climbing method. Take your challenge game something else safer. I don't see any need for changes other than better warning signs or write-ups on the Zion newspaper. The Angels Landing is an privileged place. If we want to make the place as an unprivileged, we should have an elevator. (64 years old male with technical climbing experience). My condolences to the family.
In my opinion they should either get rid of the chains and make the hike more dangerous therefore less people would do it or instead of chains have cables like half dome does. The chains don't really allow you to tie yourself in safely and the gaps in the chains lead to undue risk. The Chains also provide a false sense of security and make the hike seem like someone has designed to be safe.
So either remove the chains or put cables all the way up. Both would lead to a safer hike.
Half Dome style cables wouldn't work. It's not a single hump like the 400 ft Half Dome climb, but a lot of little ridges. I found that a lot of the gaps where there aren't chains aren't so bad, but there are some chained areas that are scary.
I'm not even sure the NPS would consider building a brand new chain system. Most people would agree that the Half Dome chains wouldn't be installed today if they weren't already there.
"Not necessarily. There are some areas where there are ledges or bushes that could conceivably catch a fall. Or stumble and fall down without falling off. Granted there are a lot of exposed areas where one could die or suffer grave injury."
To clarify, I meant an 800 plus foot fall (which is probably the minimum at the last section of Angel's Landing) and it's extremely unlikely that any ledge or bush is going to save you if you fall 800 or more feet. The point stands though for people to stop comparing this to driving or walking on the sidewalk. Even if you went with the notion that an Angel's Landing hike is as necessary to living as walking on the sidewalk or driving, I'd bet the latter two activities are still much safer percentage wise.
Having hiked Angels landing before, it makes me feel very good to know that there are actually still hikes out there that the state or government has not regulated to the fullest and "Most safe" according to their saftey handbooks. Yes this was a tragic tragic event, and I feel deeply for the victim and her family, but to have such a beautiful and challenging hike/climb like angels landing closed off, or set with hand rails and over "Safe", would absolutely ruin the hike.
I have been on many many hikes in my time, and I still today cannot think of a hike that, without harnesses, is as exhilarating and exciting as this one. There were numerous times that I looked over the cliff, and though "Wow, I cant believe they let us hike this", which in my eyes is not a bad thing at all, it was a feeling of almost freedom and happiness that it was not regulated like everything else in the world. Please People, dont try to stop this hike, or "Make it safer", just do your research, and if you feel uncomfortable, please dont hike it, or take someone experienced with you; and if you are a parent, please explain to your kids the dangers, or wait until they are a bit older and understand the dangers.
This hike is one of he last great remaining hikes that make you remember it for years to come.
My wife and I just returned from Zion and we both hiked Angel's Landing. I always thought that I was comfortable with heights but this hike scared the heck out of me. There are consistently points throughout the final 1/2 mile or so where the slightest misstep or loss of balance will result in launching off. The hike is breathtakingly beautiful and exciting but, holy cow, it feels dangerous.