An Arizona college student feared her shoes were “so slippery” moments before she lost her footing and plummeted 200 feet to her death when a routine hiking trip was hit struck by a rainstorm, her heartbroken father revealed.
Grace Rohloff, 20, was hiking with her father, Jonathan Rohloff, when she tragically died at Yosemite National Park on July 13, according to SFGate.
Rohloff had organized a 16-mile round-trip hike to the park’s behemoth rock formation, Half Dome, known for its distinct shape, and ascended 400 feet up the formation using cables from the trail.
The pair reached the top without a problem and enjoyed its scenic views.
But signs of trouble began as they descended back to the bottom of formation when sinister-looking storm clouds started rolling in overhead.
“A black cloud was rolling in like gangbusters,” Jonathan Rohloff told the outlet. “I was like, ‘We have got to get down now because we don’t want to be up here with any rain. It rolled in literally out of nowhere.’”
The Arizona State University student had bought new hiking shoes to ensure she had the correct footwear for the 16-mile hike.
But, as the rain continued to pour, she immediately realized a problem about three-quarters of the way down the 4,800-foot rock formation.
“Dad, my shoes are so slippery,” Jonathan Rohloff recalled his daughter saying.
The father and daughter’s descent was brought to a standstill when they chose not to pass some inexperienced hikers trying to reach the bottom.
Her father, who was below her, tried to ease his daughter’s nerves and told her to take the descent “one step at a time.”
However, Rohloff lost her footing and slid right past her horrified father.
“She just slid off to the side, right by me, down the mountain,” Rohloff told the outlet. “It happened so fast. I tried to reach my hand up, but she was already gone.”
Jonathan Rohloff estimates his daughter fell 200 to 300 feet and likely hit her head on the rock on the way down.
The father couldn’t reach his daughter because of how steep the mountain was and was forced to yell to another hiker to call 911.
Though the fall from that height was severe, Jonathan Rohloff recalled believing she could still be alive and shouted at his daughter, “I’m here. I’m not going to leave you. If you can hear my voice, give me a sign. I love you.”
He then began to pray along with other hikers who had witnessed the tragedy.
“It was one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen,” Erin McGlynn, who was hiking up the trail with her mother when she saw the father yelling at his daughter below, told the outlet.
“It was also one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen. He was able to compose himself, just in case he could provide any comfort to her. He did everything he possibly could have.”
After three grueling hours of waiting, a rescue helicopter reached the Arizona State University student and discovered she did not survive the fall.
The Mariposa County coroner’s office later revealed that Rohloff died from a head fracture, SFGate reported.
Jonathan Rohloff shared it was “comforting” to hear from a coroner that his daughter likely died during the fall.
“If she was gone, that she didn’t have to suffer,” he told the outlet.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Rohloff was studying to become a teacher at Arizona State University and worked two additional jobs.
Rohloff was an experienced hiker with thousands of miles under her belt and enjoyed challenging hikes like Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park, which she did in the snow.
At least 15 people have died on the cables and top of Half Dome since 1948, according to The World Travel Guy.
A permit is required for hikers wanting to ascend the Half Dome, but officials also warn darning adventure seekers not to attempt the climb when storm clouds are visible or the ground is wet.
Following the tragedy, Jonathan Rohloff called the climb “unnecessarily dangerous” and wants more safety precautions in put in place to avoid any further deaths.
“It’s not going to bring my daughter back, but I would like to strongly advocate for a safer way to get to the top of Half Dome,” he told SFGate.
