A father-daughter hike that began with an Arizona college student checking off a bucket list item ended tragically when she was killed after falling down Yosemite’s Half Dome earlier this month.
Grace Rohloff, a 20-year-old hiker, and her father, Jonathan Rohloff, were descending the cables at Yosemite’s summit when she slipped and fell on 13 July, as reported by SFGate. The 14- to 16-mile round-trip hike to Half Dome is known for its difficulty and requires hikers to obtain permits in advance.
Jonathan Rohloff recounted their final moments at the summit, where they admired the panoramic view and shared words of gratitude before beginning their descent.
“A black cloud was rolling in like gangbusters,” Rohloff recalled. “I said: ‘We have to get down now, because we can’t be up here with any rain. It rolled in literally out of nowhere.’”
During their descent, Grace slipped on a slick section of a rock.
“She was between the wooden blocks and slipped to the ground, and it just happened very fast. She slid down the side of the mountain,” her father recounted.
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
The ascent up the cables is the most famous – or infamous – part of the hike, allowing climbers to ascend the final 400ft to the summit without rock climbing equipment using two metal cables.
“Since 1919, relatively few people have fallen and died on the cables,” the agency’s website reads.
Rohloff said the sky was clear as the pair from Buckeye began their ascent, but they heard a thunderclap shortly after reaching the Half Dome’s base.
The National Park Service recommends hikers avoid climbing Yosemite’s Half Dome if there are storm clouds in the area and the ground is wet.
Rohloff recalled that about three-quarters of the way down the cables, Grace lost her footing before sliding down the mountain.
“It happened so fast,” he said. “I tried to reach my hand up, but she was already gone.”
Rohloff said it took three hours for rescuers to arrive with a helicopter as he and a park ranger waited under harsh winds, rain and hail.
He said rescue workers told him Grace had died and the park ranger accompanied the grieving father down the mountain.
“I know that’s her job, but [the park ranger] went way above and beyond to make a human connection with me,” he said.
Grace sustained a severe head fracture and probably died during the fall, a coroner told her father.
A fundraiser was set up in Grace’s memory to raise money for the grandson of her former math teacher, who was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Her math teacher at Valley Lutheran high school inspired her to become a teacher as well.
The remainder of the funds will go to her high school’s girls athletics, which the fundraiser describes as “close to her heart”.
“She had a humor that would make everyone laugh. She was a treasure. And oh, my heart, she is missed,” the fundraiser description reads. “She died as she lived. Full of pure excitement and adventure.”
Rohloff is a principal at Paseo Pointe elementary school and said he was still trying to understand what happened.
“I believe that God was calling her home,” he said. “And I believe that there will be reasons for her death that will be revealed to us.”
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