High Sierra Topix

I very much doubt there are very many mothers or fathers who never go into the wilderness , who could possibly know how to instill safety in their kids when it comes to waterfalls and rivers .

My own parents , who made a habit of going into the mountains at every opportunity , never really talked much about safety . Of course they never let us go on the water in the first place .



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A group leader is responsible for the safety and well being of its members,
especially teenagers or younger kids. With 3 deaths at Vernal Falls in 2011, 1
in 2012, and 1 at Vernal and 1 at Nevada Falls so far this year, the dangers of
fast moving rivers has been well publicized for years now.
The NP has signs where this teenager entered into the water indicating
the dangers of the strong current which many of us here have seen while
passing through this area. There are many questions like: Was the trip
leader experienced and educated in the dangers of the wilderness and this
area in particular? Did the leader have a talk before heading up with the
group informing them about the dangers that may be encountered and how to
avoid them? Why was this teenager allowed to enter the water unsupervised,
especially in this particularly dangerous section? Questions that we will probably
never know the answers to, but it does bring up the question about what is the
responsibility or partial responsibility of the leader of a group, either morally
or legally when heading into the wild, even if it is only a day hike.
It is not the parents responsibility to teach water safety, but they should inquire
about the experience of the group leaders who will be taking their children into
a potentially dangerous environment.

A leader, one or many, can only lead, not hold everyone's hand !
Was the teenager able to read?
Callous maybe but this sounds like Darwin in action to me.

maverick wrote:A group leader is responsible for the safety and well being of its members, especially teenagers or younger kids.
...
It is not the parents responsibility to teach water safety, but they should inquire
about the experience of the group leaders who will be taking their children into
a potentially dangerous environment.

hmm. there are things wrong in these statements. Agree that the group leader is responsible, but we don't know if there was a waiver. there usually is.

Parents are responsible for safety!!! right from birth. It's almost a sin in my book that kids aren't taught to swim. I was in the Y' pool at 3. maybe earlier; memory starts to fade.

Also, at 19, he made his choice. he's an adult. guess he could swim (for a bit).

russ

Think he was wishing the same thing on the way over? I never view these as tragic accidents either. Sad that he didn't use common sense.

Rlown wrote:
hmm. there are things wrong in these statements.

Let me clarify because I see it was not written clear enough.
Yes, parents are responsible for safety Russ, what I was referring to was the
waters in the wild, many folks have never had a chance to experience a
big and powerful river such as the Merced during the run off much less
understand the dangers associated with them and therefore teach/warn
their kids about it. And yes, a 19 year old is old enough to reason, but as you
well know not all 19 year olds are the same, maturity wise.

so it's the parks fault?

I don't want to put blame on anyone, other than the party involved. There's nothing to prove, no one to blame. Dead. Gone. Done.

It was a personal choice.

I'll stop now... maybe. no waiver to sign.

.done.

Even the stupid young do not make a conscious choice to be swept over a waterfall. The young man made a choice to step into and swim in a body of water that did not look dangerous to him. The general public, city kids in particular, are generally oblivious of the dangers of big water. Unless you have experience swimming in powerful rivers, you may not realize there are powerful undercurrents that you do not see on the top. Add to that the cold, which can suck the energy from a swimmer. If you are a leader of a youth group and the youth do not obey your commands, you should not be a leader of a youth group. It seems to me that the leader either was not aware of the danger or was aware and did not exert leadership. I suspect the group may have been a loosy-goosy "lets go see Yosemite" with church "leaders" trained in theological leadership, not wilderness leadership or safety. When you choose to be the leader of a group, you ARE responsible for the groups safety.

I do not think there are many of us who backpack, who have not, some time in the past, made an impulsive bad decision, got ourselves into a pickle and were lucky and managed to escape death. If there really was a "Darwin Award" perhaps I should have received it considering all the stupid things I did in my youth.

most of us need the darwin award.


but at the same time we're alive. hence darwin.