Once infamous, Angels Landing trail now a safety success story
Danger • No one has died on the hike in five years.
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Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
From Angels Landing, hikers can view sharp canyon walls that were carved over millennia by Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers relax on Angels Landing.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers approach the knife-edge ridge that leads to Angels Landing.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Angels Landing offers sweeping views of Zion Canyon.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers climb Walter's Wiggles, a series of switchbacks ascending out of Refrigerator CanyonAl Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers carefully make their way up a section of the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National ParkAl Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Zion National Park will turn 100 year old this Summer. Zion was established as Makuntaweap NaAl Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers carefully pick their way down the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park. It's one Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers take a well deserved rest at the top of Angels Landing. It's one of the premier hikes i
Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
From Angels Landing, hikers can view sharp canyon walls that were carved over millennia by the Virgin River.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers relax on Angels Landing.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers approach the knife-edge ridge that leads to Angels Landing.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Angels Landing offers sweeping views of Zion Canyon.Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune
Hikers climb Walter's Wiggles, a series of switchbacks ascending out of Refrigerator Canyon en route to Angels Landing.Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers carefully make their way up a section of the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park in March 2009. The trail offers one of the premier hikes in the park, taking visitors along a steep rock spine that climbs to a magnificent view of the Virgin River and Zion Canyon below. But the hike is not for those who fear heights. An anchor chain is embedded in the rock in steep places along the trail for hikers to grab onto for safety.Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Zion National Park will turn 100 year old this Summer. Zion was established as Makuntaweap National Monument on July 31, 1909 by President William Taft. Hikers carefully pick their way down the Angel's Landing Trail. It's one of the premier hikes in the park which takes the hiker up and a steep rock spine that climbs to a magnificent view of the Virgin River and Zion Canyon below. The hikes is not for those with fear of heights. An anchor chain is embedded in the rock in steep places along the trail that hikers can grab onto for safety.Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers carefully pick their way down the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park. It's one of the premier hikes in the park which takes the hiker up and a steep rock spine that climbs to a magnificent view of the Virgin River and Zion Canyon below. The hikes is not for those with fear of heights. An anchor chain is embedded in the rock in steep places along the trail that hikers can grab onto for safety.Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo
Hikers take a well deserved rest at the top of Angels Landing. It's one of the premier hikes in Zion National Park, which takes the hiker up a steep rock spine that climbs to a magnificent view of the Virgin River and Zion Canyon below. The hikes is not for those with fear of heights. An anchor chain is embedded in the rock in steep places along the trail that hikers can grab onto for safety.
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Zion National Park • Cheetah Platt works as an acrobat, but he's hardly fearless.
Before he decided to hike Angels Landing, he read materials online and the literature provided by Zion National Park. They described the plateau at the end providing spectacular views of the park and southwest Utah, but also the 1,500-foot elevation gain and the trail's cliffs and a narrow ridge near the top.
When Platt and his family hiked Angels Landing last month, he was surprised.
"The chains up at the last 5 percent [of the trail] make it really safe for any kind of an athletic person," said Platt, who has worked for Cirque du Soleil, Disney and Paramount Pictures, "and I was impressed by the wide range of people who were able to complete the hike."
Platt and his wife, Rhiann, tweeted a photo from Angels Landing in which he is holding her vertically and upside down.
It was a glamorous photo for a hike with a bad reputation. The magazine Outside last year named Angels Landing one of the deadliest trails in the world.
That reputation is getting a makeover. Angels Landing has gone five years without a death. (Graphic: Which parks had the most searches and rescues in 2014.)
Safety began to improve in 2011. That spring, the National Park Service erected a sign near the trailhead warning Angels Landing hikers or would-be hikers that six people have died from falls on the trail since 2004.
"The route is not recommended," the sign says, "during high winds, storms, or if snow or ice is present."
The park service also installed more chains, which hikers can grip like a stairway railing as they walk. The park service also carved more steps in the rock.
Ray O'Neil, a district ranger in Zion National Park, said it seemed as if hikers were too casual near cliffs. "We're trying to get people to recognize the dangers of a misstep."
The improvements may provide a lesson for the rest of the National Park Service, said Travis Heggie, an associate professor in the Tourism, Leisure, & Event Planning Program at Bowling Green University. Heggie has delved into park service data and published papers on accidents and searches and rescues in national parks. His papers have urged the agency to adopt a prevention strategy.
Heggie likes the idea of warning signs and railings.
"Anything that will prevent it from happening in the first place," he said, "because it is a lot more effective" than retrieving someone later.
The last recorded death on the Angels Landing trail was Regine Milobedzki, 63, of Upland, Calif. She fell from Scout Lookout on April 27, 2010.
O'Neil said Milobedzki was seen sitting on the edge of Scout Lookout. When she stood up, O'Neil said, Milobedzki lost her balance. She plummeted about 1,000 feet.