Woman known as 'Bikini Climber' freezes to death after massive fall in Taiwan

On the eighth day of her solo hike, Gigi Wu, 36, used a satellite phone to call a friend after she fell down in a ravine in Central Taiwan's Yushan Mountain. Photo / Facebook

A Taiwanese woman known as the "Bikini Climber" for hiking up mountains in swimwear has been found frozen to death after falling 19.8m in a national park.

On the eighth day of her solo hike, Gigi Wu, 36, used a satellite phone to call a friend after she fell down in a ravine in Central Taiwan's Yushan Mountain, Taiwan News reported.

Wu told her friend she was trapped at the bottom and unable to move due to the injuries to her leg suffered during the fall.

Mt. Yarigatake, 日本百名山-槍岳, 3180M, 如願以償的在本年度封山前看到360度展望～～萬歲！

Posted by Gigi Wu on Monday, 26 October 2015

It took Black Hawk rescue helicopters 28 hours to airlift Wu out due to bad weather conditions, however by the time they reached her, the young woman was dead.

The overnight temperature in the area at an altitude of over 1576m was around freezing, said Commander Lin Cheng-I of the Nantou County Fire Department.

In a message to be passed on to the Nantou fire service, Wu revealed she had stumbled more than 19m into a narrow gorge while trying to ascend Taiwan's highest peak.

Wu has a large social media following because of her bikini adventures.

重遊能安，獨攀八日（含巴沙灣，牡丹池），美好天氣回憶經歷

Posted by Gigi Wu on Sunday, 20 November 2016

In 2018, she revealed she spent 127 days - roughly a third of the year - hiking.

On Christmas Eve, she also shared an image showing her bruised legs after another fall, which she admitted she was lucky to survive.

Many of her Facebook friends have left messages of condolences after learning of her death.