A Taiwanese woman, known as the “bikini climber” for hiking mountains and taking pictures of herself in swim wear, died after falling down a ravine in Yushan national park on Sunday, AFP reported on Tuesday. Wu was an experienced hiker, reports said.
Gigi Wu, 36, was eight days into a solo 25-day hike when she fell down the 65-foot valley on Sunday. She used a satellite phone to call a friend and inform them that she had fallen and could not move because of a leg injury, according to news.com.au.
Three rescue helicopters were deployed on Sunday but were unable to reach her due to inclement weather, according to Taiwan News. Personnel of Nantou fire department hiked the valley to look for Wu and found her body on Monday.
“The weather conditions in the mountains are not good, we have asked our rescuers to move the body to a more open space and after the weather clears we will make a request for a helicopter to bring the body down,” Lin Cheng-yi of the Nantou County Fire and Rescue Services said. Lin said the rescue team hiked for 28 hours to reach the body, according to AFP.
Wu used to post updates on her Facebook page with photos of her hiking mountains, often dressed in a bikini top. In an interview with a local channel last year, Wu said she scaled more than 100 peaks in four years. “I put on a bikini in each one of the 100 mountains,” she said. When asked why hiked in swim wear, she said: “It just looks so beautiful, what’s not to like?”
In October, an Indian couple died after falling off the Taft Point in Yosemite National Park in the United States.
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