Danielle Burnette, 29, of Lake Havasu City, fell more than 500 feet after slipping on the steepest part of the popular trail, the Visalia Times-Delta reported.
“She fell over 500 feet down steep, rocky terrain and was deceased when park rangers arrived on the scene,” park spokesman Scott Gediman said in a statement. “The incident remains under investigation.”
Summit cables have been put up every summer since 1919 at Half Dome to allow climbers to reach the top of the 8,842-foot granite dome, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Thousands of climbers scale the granite rock as part of the 16-mile round trip, the newspaper reported.
It is not clear what caused the fall, park officials said. The incident remains under investigation.
Half Dome was designated a wilderness area in 1964, the Chronicle reported.
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