A 26-year-old California woman was killed by a 600-foot fall while working her way down the cables on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, according to a park release.
The fatality on Sunday was the first since the park instituted a permit system with hopes of improving safety on the route to the top of the iconic granite dome.
According to a park release, at about noon on Sunday the park's emergency communications center received a 911 phone call reporting a fall of a hiker on the Half Dome cables. Hayley LaFlamme, from San Ramon, California, had gone to the top of Half Dome and was descending when she fell 600 feet off the cables, the release said, adding that rangers pronounced her deceased upon arrival on scene.
While an investigation into the accident was continuing Monday, the park reported a "severe lightning, thunder, and rainstorm was present in the area of Half Dome for several hours in the morning and early afternoon on Sunday."
"This type of weather can make for hazardous trail conditions and the granite slopes become very slick," the release said.
The last hiker who died on Half Dome was Majoj Kumar, from San Ramon, California, on June 13, 2009, according to park records. Before that, on June 16, 2007, Hirofumi Nohara, slipped to his death on the cables. Two other Half Dome fatalities involved women who were hiking on Half Dome when the cables were down. These were Jennifer Bettles, who died on April 21, 2007 and Emily Sandal, who died on November 8, 2006.
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Wilderness is not without danger. We all need to take responsibility for our actions. Reminds me of a trip when I was a kid years ago in the mountains in Europe. There was a set of steps to climb to the top of the mountain from the pass where we parked. The climb probably was 300-500' or so, and the steps were high (especially as a kid) and uneven. At the bottom of the steps, there was a sign that read something like this: "Do not run up and down the steps. 1981: 1 death, 1980: 2 deaths, 1978: 1 death. Pay attention." Guess what, there were still some morons who were running. Ultimately, it's not the job of the NPS to try to protect people from their own inability to make smart decisions.
The time I went up, I never really thought of using a harness. However - that was back when no permit was needed for any day, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I went up on a less busy Thursday, and there was so little traffic going up that most of the time I could grab onto both cables on the way up. I just needed some decent footwear, a good pair of grippy gloves (I made a mismatched pair of rubber-palmed cotton ones from the glove pile), and a lot of patience.
Now bad weather is another matter. I probably would have waited to the next day, although that was a Friday, and tried for Clouds Rest the same day. I'm not a big fan of tethering, but if it were mandated for everyone, then I wouldn't have the same qualms I have now - that one person slipping can knock others off the cables with the tether and/or carabiner. I could still imagine a chain reaction, but at least everyone would be secured to the cables. That was the case in 2009 when one guy slipped and died on the descent. Yosemite SAR went out to bring people down. Many weren't prepared for the conditions, and I heard a few people were near hypothermic. SAR brought in harnesses and makeshift tethers for everyone. They were also aiding people with the use of the harnesses, which I'd imagine can be a problem when people bring their own gear and are unfamiliar with their use.
http://www.friendsofyosar.org/rescues/2009/6-13-09_HalfDomeFatality.html
Half Dome should be an adventure guided by experienced climbers. It's a solution that's good for the climbers, public and Park.
That is ridiculous! remove the cables, why because someone died. One person to ruin it the experience for everyone else. When you go to half dome you realize the danger. You could die! if you dont want to put yourself in that situation dont do it. I have a better chance of dieing in my car on the way to half dome. Should we make the world carless so no one dies? No that is the risk you take when you drive a car, when you go on the freeway. Why not just close the whole park so no one gets injured by a wild animal. I say its a steep climb, dont be an idiot and climb in the rain! Those rocks are slick.