Idaho woman dies after fall in Zion National Park

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Victim of fatal fall identified

BY KEVIN JENKINS • kevin@thespectrum.com • November 29, 2009

ST. GEORGE – Officials at Zion National Park have identified the victim of a 1,000-foot fall from Angels Landing as 50-year-old Tammy Grunig of Pocatello, Idaho.

Grunig fell to her death Friday while hiking the popular trail in Zion National Park.

“Her husband had dropped her off and was waiting for her at the bottom,” said Washington County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Rob Tersigni.

Family members in Idaho said Grunig and her husband, Michael maintained a second residence in St. George.

Zion National Park District Ranger Ray O’Neil said Grunig was hiking alone, but it was a busy day for park visitation and several people on the trail witnessed the fall.

“There’s no reason to expect suspicious circumstances,” O’Neil said. “It looks like it was just a really terrible accident.”

The fall occurred on the north side of Angels Landing, according to a statement released by the National Park Service, and was first reported in a 911 call to St. George Police Dispatch by another hiker with a cell phone at about 2:10 p.m.

O’Neil said the weather was fine when the incident occurred at about the midpoint of the narrow stretch from Scouts Lookout to the top.

The fall is the second Angels Landing fatality this year. A California woman, 55-year-old Nancy Maltez, fell to her death in August after stumbling on the trail while hiking with family members.

O’Neil said there have been four fatalities involving falls from Angels Landing during 2006, 2007 and 2009, and that the number is unusual for the park.

At least one other fatal fall was reported in the park this year, when the body of Dave Brigham, 48, of New Jersey was found at the base of the Great Arch in February after Brigham fell from Canyon Overlook. Investigators said that fall was an apparent suicide.

District Ranger Kevin Killian said taking into account the entire history of the park, Zion averages about two fatal accidents per year, whether from falls, heart conditions or other causes.

“We’re over average for this year,” Killian said.

Killian said the most recent fall from Angels Landing before 2006 was when a Boy Scout fell in 2004, however the Scout was “well off the trail” in what was considered an unusual situation, Killian said.

The Angels Landing trail is renowned for its spectacular view of the park along a sometimes precipitous ridge that stretches for half a mile between Scouts Landing and Angels Landing. A chain is attached to the rock wall for much of that distance to allow hikers to hold onto something.

Killian said Grunig had stepped slightly off the trail at a point where there was no chain.

“I can’t say why she didn’t stay on the main trail tread,” Killian said, although he suggested she may have tried to go around someone, or may have tried to allow someone coming down the trail to squeeze past her.

The trail was not immediately adjacent to a precipice at the location, Killian said, adding that if it were the park would probably have a chain there.

However, there is a sandy slope at the location, dotted with sagebrush, and while witness accounts disagreed about exactly how the incident occurred, all indicated “there was some kind of imbalance,” Killian said.

“Some folks might not view that spot as dangerous, as they would a sheer drop-off,” he said.

The Angels Landing trail was temporarily closed while park officials investigated. Grunig’s body was recovered by 6:30 p.m.