In this July 15, 2014 photo, hikers gather in the foreground as climbers use the assistance of cables to scale Half Dome in Yosemite National Park National Park in California's Sierra Nevada. A hiker... (Associated Press) 
 
 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A hiker in Yosemite National Park fell to his death while climbing the iconic granite cliffs of Half Dome in rainy conditions, authorities said Tuesday. 
 
 The National Park Service said the accident occurred Monday at about 4:30 p.m. in the Northern California national park. The hiker's body was recovered Tuesday afternoon. 
 
 NPS spokeswoman Jamie Richards said the man and a companion were scaling the steepest part of the trail where rangers recently installed cables to help hikers to climb the steepest part of the 4,800-foot (1,463-meter) ascent. 
 
 Richards said the companion was helped from the trail and was unharmed. 
 
 The cables are installed each summer to assist the thousands of hikers who make the popular 14-mile (23-kilometer) round trip. Richards said hikers can clip safety harnesses to the cables, but the vast majority don't. 
 
 Richards said investigators are still trying to determine how the fall occurred. She said it's unclear if the hikers were climbing in the rain, but that the well-worn trail over smooth rock was wet. 
 
 The NPS declined to release the man's name pending notification of his family. The NPS said it's the first fatal fall from Half Dome since 2010. 
 
 NPS requires hikers to obtain permits to hike the popular trail to avoid overcrowding during the peak summer season. ||||| A hiker died on Monday after falling from the cables near the summit of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park. 
 
 The victim’s body was recovered on Tuesday. 
 
 The National Park Service said two hikers were on the cables on Monday during thunderstorm activity when a male hiker slipped and fell. His name has not been released pending notification of his family. 
 
 Rangers were contacted and assisted the other hiker. 
 
 Half Dome is one of the symbols of Yosemite, and the trail to the top is one of the most popular routes in the park, requiring reservations to prevent overcrowding. 
 
 Every spring, cables are put into place along the final 400 feet to help hikers make the steep ascent to the 8,839-foot granite summit. ||||| (CNN) A hiker fell to his death on Monday while ascending Yosemite National Park's famous Half Dome trail, the US National Park Service said. 
 
 The hiker was on the trail's Half Dome cables, the park service said in a statement. He was hiking with another person during thunderstorm activity around 4:30 p.m. when he slipped and fell. 
 
 The cables take hikers up the last 400 feet to the summit of Half Dome, which rises nearly 5,000 feet above California's Yosemite Valley. 
 
 Park rangers were notified and went to the scene to assist the second hiker, the NPS said. The missing hiker's body was found around 1 p.m. Tuesday. 
 
 His identity will be released after his family is notified. 
 
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– A hiker exploring California's Yosemite National Park died Monday when he slipped from cables leading to the 8,800-foot peak of its famed Half Dome. The man was climbing the last 400 feet of the summit with the help of installed metal cables when he slipped during a thunderstorm around 4:30pm, reports CNN. His body was recovered Tuesday afternoon, though his identity is being withheld until family members are notified. His lone companion was helped from the trail without injury, per the AP. Noting most park accidents occur in wet conditions, officials say this is the first fatality on the Half Dome cables since 2010 and the first visitor fatality this year, per CNN. Per the Huffington Post, hikers are advised to avoid the Half Dome during storms. "If a storm appears nearby, do not continue to the summit and, if in the summit area, leave the area (while still using caution when descending the cables and steps)," the National Park Service says. A rep adds most hikers don't attach safety harnesses to the cables. (A 2015 rock fall made the route more challenging.)