Christina “Chris” Chan M.S. ’08, a doctoral student in political science, died in a climbing accident in Yosemite on Friday, Palo Alto Online reported.

Chan reportedly fell 400 feet from the north face of Eichorn Peak during a free climb. Her climbing partner, Jim Castelaz M.S. ’08, said he witnessed the fall.

Chan, 31, was the former president of Stanford Alpine Club, which has posted a memorial to her on its website. She got a bachelor’s degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard in 2000, according to her personal website. She was doing doctoral work at Stanford with a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship. A Facebook page has been created in her memory.

“There is no existence that I love more than the moments spent on steep granite faces,” Chan wrote on a section of her website devoted to climbing.

Update, Jul 13:

A memorial service for Chan is set on Sunday, July 18 at 1 p.m. at Memorial Church, according to the Facebook page organizers.

Check The Daily on Thursday for a full story on Chan’s Stanford life and work.

Update, July 16:

Chan’s brother, Peter, has corrected Chan’s age. She was 31.

— Elizabeth Titus