What was the name of the man who fell down the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park Saturday?
The hiker who perished after falling during a descent of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park late Saturday afternoon has been identified as Manoj Kumar, 40, of San Ramon, Calif. Rain and hail might have been factors. At the time of the 911 call regarding Kumar’s fall, several climbers had become caught in a hailstorm and were unable to descend, either because of the incident or exposure to harsh elements. A team of rangers evacuated 41 hikers. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of Kumar’s fall. This marks the first fatality involving a hiker on Half Dome since Hirofumi Nohara fell to his death in June 2007. Two women died after falls while on the massive granite shoulder, one in April 2007, the other in November 2006. Yosemite set Half Dome’s cables in place in mid-May and, as it does every spring, cautioned hikers to exercise extreme caution in wet weather. Sources:
Hiker Dies In Fall At Yosemite’s Half Dome YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) ― A male hiker fell to his death on Saturday while climbing Yosemite’s famed Half Dome, park rangers said. The man fell from the granite monolith at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, said Yosemite National Ranger Scott Gediman. Gediman said there are indications the hiker was using the cable handrails that help climbers make the 17-mile round-trip, which begins in the Yosemite Valley and ascends nearly 5,000 feet. The weather on Saturday made for dangerous conditions, and some 30 other Half Dome climbers were being escorted down by rangers on Saturday evening. “Right now the weather is cold and cloudy, hail has been reported on Half Dome today and the granite gets very slippery,” he said. It was not immediately clear if the unidentified hiker was with a group or alone. The last death at Half Dome was Japanese hiker Hirofumi Nohara, 37, who slipped off of cables on June 16, 2007 as other hikers watched in horror. Saturd
A forty-year-old man named Manoj Kumar died during his descent of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park late Saturday afternoon. He is from San Ramon, California. A team of rangers evacuated 41 other hikers, and the exact cause of Kumar’s fall is currently unknown. Sources: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/06/yosemite-hiker-dies-after-fall-from-half-dome-others-rescued-in-hail-storm.
