A Yosemite worker who fell to his death while rock climbing in the iconic California park has been identified as a recent high school graduate from Texas.
Grant Cline, 18, from Frisco, died in a fall while rock climbing at Royal Arches, a popular climbing spot below North Dome, according to the Mariposa Gazette. He was living in employee housing inside the park and working for Yosemite Hospitality at the time of his death.
Details on the incident have been sparse, but a GoFundMe page set up to help Cline's family travel to California and hold memorial services says the teenager found his purpose when he started rock climbing age 14.
"Climbing wasn’t just a passion, it was how Grant connected with the world. He found joy in feeling small beneath towering cliffs, peace in nature’s quiet beauty, and purpose in pushing his limits."
The National Park Service has not issued a statement on the case, but Aramark, the Pennsylvania-based company that holds the concessions contract with Yosemite, offered its sympathies to the family, according to the Gazette.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic climbing accident,” says Sheena Weinstein, a spokesperson for Aramark.
Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular rock climbing spots in the world, with its trademark granite slabs that have been a source of inspiration for rock climbers for some 150 years.
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