One Dead, Two Injured at Yosemite Waterfalls Last Week

Yosemite gets hot in the summer, and its countless waterfalls offer visitors a tantalizing respite from the heat. However, getting near the base of the aforementioned waterfalls requires a treacherous scramble across often-slippery boulder fields. The vast majority of scramblers are fine, but the sheer volume of visitors means that even a sub-one-percent fall rate would result in an unacceptable quantity of injuries. 

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Last week, a 21-year-old Romanian tourist fell to his death at Bridalveil Fall, one of Yosemite's most popular attractions. According to the Park Service, there have been 23 documented injuries at Bridalveil Fall over the past few years alone, and likely far more which haven't been documented. While the boulder field beneath the Fall is technically open to would-be scramblers, Rangers have been posted at the viewing platform to warn visitors of the dangers associated with traversing the boulders. Unfortunately, the Park Service has noted that "[stationing Rangers] has proven to not be a successful method since people chose to continue into the boulder field regardless of warnings."