Half Dome. The Half Dome trail has an outstanding record of uneventful trips. However, here have been over 900 traumatic deaths in the Park since 1849. This is documented in the book: "Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite" by Ghiglieri and Larabee. The most common injuries are simple sprains or bone breaks – not the harrowing situations described below. Knowledge is power – use this knowledge to conduct a safe hike. It is Park Service policy not to release the names of individuals if no fatality was involved. Falls off the cables are rare. Do not go up if the cables are down, if the rock is wet, don't wear smooth soled shoes and stay inside the cables. Japanese Man fell off Half Dome cables June 16, 2007 (wire services) Last Saturday, a hiker fell to his death while climbing up the cables at Yosemite's Half Dome. Hirofumi Nohara, 37, of Japan slipped and fell while ascending. He lived in Sunnyvale, CA and worked at NEC Electronics in Santa Clara. An investigation as to the specific cause led to no firm conclusions. His party left San Jose at 1:30 am and arrived at the park at 6:30 am. His fatique may have been a factor. He was the first and only person to fall off the cables when they are in the "up" configuration for summer use - since they were installed in 1919. Here is the verbatim official Yosemite NPS Ranger report. Note that they send you to the Modesto Bee story for more info. Hirofumi Nohara, 37, slipped and fell while ascending the Half Dome cables on the afternoon of June 16th. Nohara, a Japanese citizen in the United States on a work visa, was hiking with four friends when the fall occurred. He fell approximately 300 feet from the left side of the cables and was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation into the cause of the slip and subsequent fall is underway. The Half Dome hike is a round-trip hike of 17 miles and considered extremely strenuous. Hikers gain 4,800 feet of elevation along the hike, which passes such highlights as Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall, and Half Dome itself. A series of metal cables are placed along the steep shoulder of the dome to assist hikers to the summit. [Submitted by Adrienne Freeman, Public Affairs Officer] More Information... Man falls into Merced near Vernal Fall May 19 (NPS Morning Report, 6/4/2007) On May 19th, Kiran Yellajyosula, 27, of Santa Clara and India, went hiking on the Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail with a group of friends. Yellajyosula left the trail and walked about 10 yards to the edge of the Merced River, where he slipped and fell in. Witnesses reported that they’d seen him in the river below the Vernal Falls footbridge, but that he’d then disappeared. Search efforts began in earnest when the park received a call for assistance. Search dogs alerted along the river downstream from the footbridge the following day. Although past its peak spring runoff, the river continues to run at a significant volume, and its velocity near the footbridge made it too hazardous for SAR personnel to enter the water. On Tuesday, May 29th, Yellajyosula’s body was spotted by a park ranger. The recovery, which entailed the use of a high line, took about three-and-a-half hours. Yellajyosula had a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Minnesota. Be careful! Fatal Fall From Half Dome Cables (From the NPS Morning Report, 4/26/2007) At 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 19th, Yosemite dispatch received a cell phone report from witnesses who reported that about two hours earlier a solo hiker had slipped off the Half Dome cables and slid out of sight. The cables are laid down on the rock this time of year and the stanchions which hold the cables up are removed to prevent damage by avalanches. Rescue personnel began hiking up the nine trail miles toward Half Dome because weather made flying impossible. The team was turned around above the shoulder of the dome several hours later by heavy snow, wind, and icy conditions that made travel on the exposed ridge too dangerous even before they reached the bottom of the cables. The bad weather continued throughout the following day and the dome was never out of the clouds. The weather broke the following morning and a spotter posted across Tenaya Canyon from Half Dome picked out what he believed was a body in the gully to the north of and below the cables. The location of the body, about 1,000 feet below the base of the cables, was confirmed from a helicopter. A recovery team was flown to the shoulder of Half Dome and was able to descend to the victim utilizing crampons, ice axes and roped climbing. The body was flown out by long line under a helicopter. She was eventually identified as Jennie Bettles, a 43-year old marketing executive and marathon runner from Oakland, California. [By Leslie Reynolds, Valley District Ranger] Fatal Fall Off Half Dome On November 8, 2006, 25-year-old of Emily Sandall, a New Mexico resident, was descending the cables, when she slipped on the wet rock, lost her grip on the cable, and slid out of sight. In this case, she was going up without the full benefit of the cable handrail. As is the custom each autumn, the Park Service removes the steel cables from the stanchions that hold the cables up. This is done to prevent them from being damaged by winter avalanches. Hiking up the backside of Half Dome under these circumstances is very difficult and not recommended. Compounding the problem was the damp surface. Responding personnel had to hike up the nine miles of trail and the slab approach to the northwest face due to marginal flying conditions. Orders were placed for several helicopters; two eventually made it into the valley but were unable to transport crews to the site of the accident due to low clouds surrounding the dome. The medical team arrived on scene at 5 p.m. and found the body of the New Mexico woman. She was found at a spot about 300 feet below the base of the cables. Man Falls Off The Cables
Photos Courtesy: David Wirtanen
damp, cold and chilly. He was wearing smooth soled shoes. Almost no one else was venturing to the top on this blustery day. He went outside the cables when he passed a descending hiker over half the way to the top. He lost his grip, slipped and fell nearly 200 feet. Horrified onlookers could do nothing. Perhaps it was a stoney outcropping that snagged him and he finally stopped parallel to and about 60 feet to the right of the base of the cables. Beneath him lie a 2,000 foot drop and certain death. Nearby hikers could do nothing but offer words of assurance. Help was summoned and a helicopter rescue team dispatched. The man lay motionless while maintaining maximum friction with the surface to avoid any further slippage. Rescuers attached ropes to the cables and rappelled out to him. They traversed back, bringing the man to safety. He was unhurt, but near hypothermia as he waited hours for the rescue team to arrive. Sonora resident David Wirtanen witnessed the fall and took these remarkable photos. He said that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to assist the man. Don't play the lottery with your life. DO NOT go up if the rock is wet. Keep inside the cables. If you have any trepidation, turn around; there will be many more opportunities.
In late July, 2005, 24 year-old Chintan Chokshi of Sunnyvale, CA completed his climb up the Mist Trail and was enjoying the Vernal Fall observation area when he climbed over the protective fence and walked into the water (apparently to cool off). He was an estimated twenty feet from the edge of Vernal Fall. He slipped on the slick rocks and the strong rushing water carried him over to a certain death. His companions watched in horror. It would be a miracle to survive this 317’ drop onto the rocks. Lightning strikes In July of 1985, five hikers ascended up Half Dome late in the day and met with tragedy from two ferocious lightning strikes. Their story is documented in the book, Shattered Air. A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite's Half Dome, by Bob Madgic (Burford Books). It recounts how the young men, full of enthusiasm and bravado, ignored nature's warnings and hiked up the famed cable trail right into the vortex of a fierce thunderstorm. They took shelter in the rock “cave” enclosure at the summit. Lightning struck the Dome twice, killing one of the hikers and causing a second to tumble over the edge, out of the grasp of his best friend. Two survivors were gravely injured. Other hikers arrived at the scene and administered emergency medical treatment for over five hours deep into the night. Finally, an air ambulance helicopter arrived in Yosemite Valley at 12:30 a.m., and in a race with the descending moon, made three dangerous trips to the top of Half Dome to bring the surviving victims down from the summit. |
| One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome |
Accidents do Happen
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