Man Falls To His Death While Climbing Mt. Whitney

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Park rangers have retrieved the body of a hiker who fell over a cliff to his death after climbing to the summit of California's Mount Whitney.

National Park officials say rangers from Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks recovered the body of 60-year-old Yukio Kato of Torrance from the bottom of the 200-foot cliff on the Mount Whitney Trail on Monday.

Kato fell a day earlier while on his way back to the trailhead after reaching the mountain's summit. He was at about 13,500 feet in elevation when he fell. Mount Whitney is the highest point in the United States outside of Alaska.

Officials say park law enforcement dispatched a helicopter and park medic to the scene, but did not have enough daylight hours to retrieve the body.

The cause of Kato's fall is under investigation.

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