College student slips and falls 200ft to her death in front of her horrified dad while hiking Yosemite's Half Dome cables

A assemblage student who slipped and fell to her decease while hiking successful Yosemite pinch her begetter said, 'dad, my shoes are slippery' seconds earlier she plummeted.

Grace Rohloff, 20, plunged 200 feet down nan treacherous Half Dome aft she mislaid her footing while descending cables connected nan cliff.

She and her dada Jonathan Rohloff are some knowledgeable hikers but had slowed their descent to accommodate little knowledgeable climbers and ended up getting stuck successful a rainfall storm.

Rohloff watched successful scary arsenic his girl tumbled down nan sheer stone look adjacent nan extremity of nan descent connected July 11.

'She conscionable slid disconnected to nan side, correct by me, down nan mountain,' Rohloff told SF Gate. 'It happened truthful fast. I tried to scope my manus up, but she was already gone.' 

He instantly scrambled down aft her, but was incapable to get down nan steep upland wherever nan University of Arizona student had travel to a rest.

Desperately hoping for a miracle, he began shouting: 'Grace, I'm here. I'm not going to time off you. If you tin perceive my voice, springiness maine a sign. I emotion you.' 

But it was an agonizing 3 hr hold until rescue teams could scope Grace, who had suffered a catastrophic caput injury.

'It was 1 of nan astir heartbreaking things I've ever seen,' hiker Erin McGlynn said.

McGlynn, 20, was among nan different hikers who encountered Rohloff arsenic he was frantically praying for his daughter's safety.

'It was besides 1 of nan bravest things I've ever seen. He was capable to constitute himself, conscionable successful lawsuit he could supply immoderate comfortableness to her. He did everything he perchance could have,' she added.

The begetter and girl were knowledgeable hikers who had agelong dreamed of completing nan Half Dome, which only allows 300 hikers a time to summit.

They were ecstatic to beryllium 1 of nan fortunate fewer granted a licence to undertake nan travel connected that fateful day,

As they headed retired they were warned of a storm, but it appeared clear overhead moreover arsenic they headed up a 400 ft agelong of cables to nan summit.

Shortly aft summiting, a large wind began brewing and they began to make their descent.

'A achromatic unreality was rolling successful for illustration gangbusters,' Rohloff said. 'I was like, 'We person sewage to get down now, because we don't want to beryllium up present pinch immoderate rain. It rolled successful virtually retired of nowhere.' 

The begetter and girl could easy person traversed down, but sewage trapped down different group of climbers and didn't want to look rude by passing them.

But arsenic nan seconds ticked by nan large wind only grew successful spot until they were descending successful perilous conditions.

'Dad, my shoes are truthful slippery,' he recalled her saying arsenic they agreed to return things carefully. 

They were 3 quarters of nan measurement done erstwhile Grace's caller hiking boots began to gaffe and her feet went retired from nether her.

Rohloff was forced to watch helplessly arsenic she plunged down and could only dream she was still alive. 

'I conscionable wanted to get my daughter,' he recalled arsenic he told really he raced down nan remaining cables.

After calling 911, Rohloff began to to believe on pinch different hikers who had witnessed nan horror.

Park ranger Shawna Daly attended to him, waiting by his broadside successful nan howling upwind and freezing hail until a rescue chopper could retrieve Grace.

Rohloff praised nan ranger for going 'above and beyond' to effort and console him. 

He explained he besides took comfortableness successful proceeding from a coroner that Grace apt died during nan fall. 

'If she was gone, that she didn't person to suffer,' he explained, adding that he hopes parkland rangers tin retrieve his daughter's backpack which contains nan past photos she took connected nan trip.

Rohloff besides paid tribute to his daughter's, 'beautiful soul' arsenic he recounted nan scary of their last time together.

'She was nan prima connected each squad she ever played on, but nan 12th woman connected nan hoops squad — Grace made that woman consciousness conscionable arsenic important,' Rohloff said. 'She had a measurement of connecting group and making them consciousness special.' 

Her mom Astraea Rohloff described her girl as, 'pure joy', explaining she would ever do her champion to make others consciousness good.

'Just being pinch her ensured that you were getting a small amended day,' she said, 

Grace's relative Emily Samora, who was owed to caput connected a camping travel pinch her this summer, said she, 'brought ray to truthful galore lives'. 

Tragically, Grace's communicative is not an isolated incident and since 2006 astatine slightest six group including nan student person died aft rainstorms made Half Dome's aboveground slippery.

In 2010, nan parkland instituted nan headdress connected hikers who could acme each day. However, this only accrued incidents arsenic those who received a licence became wished to scope nan acme contempt immoderate imaginable risks.

Rohloff would for illustration parkland officials to bring successful much features to make nan cables safer specified arsenic a 2nd group added little to nan crushed and woody planks that let hikers to measurement from 1 to nan other.

He confirmed that he will ne'er hike nan 'unnecessarily dangerous' agelong again but hopes measures tin beryllium implemented to forestall a further tragedy.