A woman has died after falling off a mountain during a hike in Wyoming’s Grand Teton national park.
According to a National Park Service press release reviewed by CNN, Joy Cho of Simi Valley, California, fell off the west side of Teewinot mountain before dawn on Friday.
Rangers said that Cho, whose age has not been released, “had succumbed to significant injuries during the fall and was pronounced dead at the scene”.
They added that her body was short-hauled from the scene and turned over to the coroner’s office in Teton county.
Short-haul rescues involve transporting one or more people who are held up suspended beneath a helicopter.
“Her seven hiking companions were flown to the Jenny Lake Search and Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows and transported back to their vehicles at the trailhead,” the release read.
The release added: “Grand Teton national park employees extend their condolences to the Cho family and friends.”
Teewinot mountain, standing at 12,330ft (3,758 meters), is the sixth highest peak in the Teton range at Grand Teton national park.
Multiple hikers have already died this year worldwide due to various perilous conditions, including falling from high altitudes and extreme heat.
Last weekend, three people – including a local mountain guide – died on the Aonach Eagach ridge in Glen Coe, Scotland, one of the narrowest ridges in mainland Britain. According to local reports, heavy mist and fog are believed to have been factors that led to the deaths of the three climbers.
A porter died in July after falling from a ledge at a height of about 8,200 meters (26,902ft) during the ascent of K2, the world’s second highest mountain.
In June, a Florida man and his teenage son died after hiking in Big Bend national park in south-west Texas under extreme heat.
The temperatures at the time were 119F (48.3C), according to the National Park Service. The boy fell ill during the heat and died, and his stepfather was killed after he crashed his car trying to find help.
In yet another episode that same month, a 71-year-old man died in Death Valley, a national park between eastern California and Nevada and one of the hottest places in the world. Temperatures in the valley had reached to at least 121F (49.4C). Park officials said: “Heat may have been a factor in his death.”
