Yosemite accident brings 2011 death toll to 14

In this July 23, 2011 photo provided by the National Park Service, visitors are seen climbing Half Dome via cables in Yosemite National Park, Calif. / AP

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California - A woman slipped to her death while descending Half Dome in the rain, the latest accident at Yosemite National Park in a year that is breaking records for the deadliest in recent history.

Fourteen people have died so far this year, including three who were swept over Vernal Fall two weeks ago while taking photographs upstream in the Merced River. In 2007, seven people were killed at the park, the most in any recent year until this one.

Video: Yosemite waterfall victims remembered at vigil

One factor in the high number of deaths is a record snowfall that has created treacherous snowmelt, swelling streams and rivers at a time of year when nature in Yosemite is supposed to be relatively tranquil.

For Haley LaFlamme, 26, it likely was the unseasonable rain that brewed on Sunday, when her group of four secured a rare permit to ascend the enormous, smooth granite dome, the park's iconic feature. They were among a group of about 20 hikers who were braving the trip to the summit despite the wet conditions, slippery granite and distant lightning and thunder.

The permits limit traffic on the popular 8.5-mile climb. LaFlamme was using the cables that park officials install during the hiking season to help with the steep and sometimes slippery footing up the final pitch of the granite dome.

At about 11 a.m. people in the park began to send messages on Twitter about a raging thunder storm with rain. At noon, Yosemite's emergency communication center received an emergency call reporting a hiker had fallen at the bottom of the cables, where the granite trail becomes less steep and the cables end. Cobb says LaFlamme fell 600 feet from the shoulder. She was dead at the scene.

Between 2006 and 2010, 38 people died in the park and 1,225 had to be rescued at a cost of more than $3 million. Nearly 4 million people visit the park every year.

[baileyccc]

I spent a day in Yosemite ten years ago and there was no way I could see even half of the places to go, but one thing is for sure, dangers lurks everywhere.

They need to hire guides and give a training course to stop this madness. Yosemite is the "Gem of the National Parks" and it should be accessible to all, but something must be done.

[4avocats]

Oh! Close the park--it's killing people!!!!
Seriously, no guides or training course is needed; just common sense and a respect for authority. I read the Half Dome rules afew weeks ago, and it made very very clear not to go anywhere near the Dome if rain or lightning were predicted. But this person and her friends decided to ignore the rules and all the signs and "brave ... the trip to the summit despite the wet conditions, slippery granite and distant lightning and thunder." Brave? No. Terminally stupid. Please don't interfere with the access to the park for people who follow the rules just because there will always be some idiot out there ignoring them. The three people in the falss? CLIMBED OVER railings and signs that made it clear not to go in the falls--but they WANTED to so, so they did. Darwin Award.

[bobnjersey]

[ Nearly 4 million people visit the park every year]
----------------------------------------------
14 fatalities ... 4 million visitors?

it's obviously not good that anyone dies when going on a vacation in yosemite ... but these odds are roughly the same as being hit by lightning.

http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/probability.html

[ChlorineInTheGenePool]

If you're dumb enough to ignore the safety warnings and climb over a 36" steel railing to get in the water at the edge of a waterfall, then you take personal responsibility for the outcome. Romina Kiryakous is just another opportunistic, money grubbing swine. Bless the family for their loss. RIP

[PVperson2]

POS

[mav547166]

So out of 4,000,000 visitors 14 get killed in accidents at the park this year. That must rank Yosemite somewhere in the top 10,000 most dangerous places to visit in the world. I'm sure there will be a vulture oops I meant lawyer there to profit off of the bodies before they are cold.

[dennisall77]

By the way, anyone out there still think Climate Change is a hoax? All that "STUPIDITY" is not just in Yosemite but also in the minds of those who have denied climate change and prevented legislation to force the end of CO2 pollution. Yes, snowpack was at record highs everywhere, even 700% above avg in some. Nice little heat wave too, going on. Plus record tornado outbreaks, record droughts, record flooding, record snows, record rains and hail... denying now just shows ignorance, not ideology

[displeased2]

George, so because we can't suddenly stop the effects of climate change implies we should keep polluting and being wasteful?

[slvrsurfer3]

George - we may not be able to stop it but we definitely CAN minimize our contribution to it.

[RealiteBites]

This is so scary - sounds like the hiker probably trusted that if officials let people do it, and if the safety precautions ended by that point, then it must be safe.

You know what's always felt to me a lot less safe than it might seem, is that drive up to Lake Tahoe on that one-lane highway. There are parts where it's really narrow, and I'm not even sure there's a guard rail?

Kind of scary ...

[ChlorineInTheGenePool]

Safety is each person's responsibility. If you don't feel safe, then don't do it! Don't try and blame others for your own failure to assess the situation and gauge the potential for harm. If you're dumb enough to ighnore the barriers and warning signs or take a risk that is beyond your ability or control then you must accept the outcome as your own doing.

[4avocats]

NO NO NO. "Officials" did NOT "let people do it." The permit, the signs, the guidebooks, all tell you NOT TO GO ANYWHERE near Half Dome if there's any hint of rain or lightning--because DUH ligthning strikes all the time and the rocks are incredibly slippery when wet--go read the Park's website--the place where these folks had to go to get theor permit.

[j_mcdonald-2009]

I did that climb in 1980 when it was far less popular. (Dozens, not hundreds of people on the trail.)

It is a remarkably bad idea to even start up if there is a chance of rain. Those storms can come in fast and you are completely vulnerable with no quick way down (short of falling).

People also forget that they are not as physically adept at altitude -- reactions times are slower, for example, making accidents more likely.

[1stlttightwad]

You are SO right. Even the possibility of adverse conditions DEMAND that you cancel. Do not let your ego get you killed. My brother and I have white water rafted, spelunked, and canoed. In every instance our pre-planning covered, topo maps, weather data, river flow speeds and talking to locals about the REAL pitfalls that are not mentioned anywhere. I am 64 and my bro is 62, we followed our own advise. There are old gunfighters and there are bold gunfighters..There are NO OLD, AND BOLD gunfighters. My sympathies go out this young persons family and can only hope that they take solace in the fact that this death, although tragic, occured in the pursuit of persons passion. May God grant you serenity and peace.