In front of her father

Tourist (20) fell to her death on Half Dome

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park was the 20-year-old's undoing.(Bild: Edward)

In Yosemite National Park, a young tourist (20) fell to her death in front of her father. Grace had previously said that her shoes were so slippery. "It all happened so quickly. I tried to grab her, but she was already gone," the father now said.

The incident took place on July 13 on the 2693-metre-high Half Dome mountain in the US state of California. Grace and her father Jonathan Rohloff had planned a hike of almost 26 kilometers through the popular park. They also reached the summit of the dome-shaped mountain in Yosemite National Park.

(Bild: Edward)

But suddenly the weather changed. "A black cloud rolled in. I said: 'We have to get down now. We shouldn't be up here when it's raining'," said Jonathan Rohloff. He and his daughter then also began their descent, reported the German newspaper "Bild" online on Saturday. The surface of the mountain was slippery and wet at this point - a problem even for experienced hikers.

A black cloud rolled in. I said: 'We have to get down now. We shouldn't be up here when it's raining.

Jonathan Rohloff

New shoes were her undoing
Grace's new hiking boots may have been her undoing. The young student had bought them especially for the national park and had complained shortly before the accident that they were slippery. Her father tried to calm her daughter down, but she slipped shortly afterwards. "It all happened so quickly. I tried to grab her, but she was already gone." Grace fell past him into the depths.

Emergency call made
According to the report, Rohloff called into the gorge in vain, while other hikers made an emergency call. The rescue helicopter took three hours to arrive and could only determine the death of the tourist. She had suffered a skull fracture.

Thousands of tourists climb Half Dome every year. Fatal accidents occur time and again, partly due to the slippery rock. A permit must be obtained from the park authorities to climb the mountain.