High Sierra Topix

Another fine example of a Self-Correcting Error!!

Bill Morell wrote:

rlown wrote:

Ikan Mas wrote: So how do we make the trails to all the big Yosemite attractions (Vernal and Nevada Falls, Yosemite Falls, and Wampama Falls) idiot proof so these people don't kill themselves? Pave the trails and put drinking fountains every 100 feet? Have a ranger in a booth at the trailhead to check your pass and your backpack? From what I've seen, its a wonder more people don't die of heat stroke on the trail given the general public's poor preparedness. Do you say something when you see someone performing an unsafe act? Didn't work on the most recent fatailities. My two cents.

Sell it to Disney.. You can't fix stupid, but I do understand why they closed the trail. Other tourists don't really wanna see the bodies..

Your probably right Russ but seeing pictures of the bodies might have a sobering effect.

You're onto something there Bill...when I was in high school, they would put the latest smashed up car some kid had killed him or herself in in front of the school for a couple of days...kept us from getting stupid right away again...but it never lasted long.

At King's Canyon at Roaring Falls, just a little waterfall really, but there was a pic of a woman floating facedown in the water. Served as a deterrent for our family...

You cant fix stupid. If you dont have enough common sense to stay out of where they went in, i mean wow. Not trying to be insensitive, but this is the epitome of natural selection.

Apparently they has kids there! Unreal. Those poor kids.

I cringed reading the commentary from the person that saw the fellow who'd tried to save his friends, regarding the look on his face as he floated 2 seconds toward certain death and dismemberment, but the fact is, the widespread press and heavy volume of discussion about this disaster will have a tangible deterrent effect at Yosemite and maybe even other parks. For a few seasons, even. That part is good.

Personally, I think the signage up there is clear and understandable. I've been up there and seen people in the water above the falls and seen other people heckle and admonish them for it. That's good. I've also seen the "swimmers" get all ghetto attitude back at people and, honestly, figured that those folks are the ones who can occasionally do us all a good turn by launching over the edge. These three that launched may have been nice (assume the best) and we should thank them for underscoring the point of the signs.

Tragedy sucks, as we all know.

I remember as a Boy Scout, on a "peak" climb, one of my best friends had one of his fingers decapitated by a rock that rolled downhill. This was in the 60's, and we were on San Gregornio (spell?). Way far from people.

Sorry about being a hot-head about this item. Its a bit close to home for me. A work buddy of mine who is also a hiker was up at the top of Nevada Falls last weekend with his family. A person fell in the river and was holding on to a willow for dear life just above the bridge. Had the bystanders not been paying attention or not been as resourceful as they were, there would have been another waterfall fatality.

A near-tragedy I had was in Rocky Mtn. N.P. I had climbed one of the Peaks (Shoshone?), and decided to try a X-country route back to camp. I jumped down a cliff in a drainage, maybe 10-12 ', and below that, I discovered, was a tremendous fall that I couldn't begin to contemplate doing.

The cliff I'd jumped down was seemingly impossible to re-climb. For hours, I went up and back down, learning every hand hold; every rock and pebble that could help me get back up. Finally, I learned the route up, and got out. I finally got back to camp like at midnight, and my partners were worried sick.

Lesson - never jump down a cliff when you're not familiar with the route. That's why one can't rely on topo maps, as as been discussed on this website a few times. You have to rely on experience and intuition. And if a route is a little longer, take it, because 20 or 30 minutes, or 60 minutes, longer can't hurt.

Its amazing to me that so many people have died in Yosemite this year. The advice concerning the high flows have been constantly reported. Granite is slick, especially near drainages. But these tragedies have occurred year after year for decades... That's why they've built those hand rails near the rivers (as shown in some photos) - whose responsibility is it? "Hand rails in the wilderness" vs. public safety.

Volunteer Firefighter Rescues Man Swept Down Falls:


Wow, talk about a hero!

And yet more tragedy: http://www.ktvu.com/news/28730700/detail.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A woman slipped to her death Sunday while descending Half Dome in the rain, the latest accident at Yosemite National Park in a year that is breaking records for the deadliest in recent history.
Fourteen people have died so far this year, including three who were swept over Vernal Fall two weeks ago while taking photographs upstream in the Merced River. In 2007, seven people were killed at the park, the most in any recent year until this one.

It's a pretty good read with more stats and other stuff. Looks to be a sobering year in Yose..

This year is proving especially deadly. Now a woman falls off Half Dome.

http://news.yahoo.com/600-foot-fall-mar ... 29077.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Michaeljones: Was your August snow story from '72? I did the same August 1972 at Wilbur May Lake.
Remember it well.