bigtroyjon
Member
luxarific said:A red ban mark over a stick figure swimming just doesn't sufficiently convey how incredibly dangerous it is to wade in that pool area, imo.
Did you really not see this sign that was posted:
luxarific said:A red ban mark over a stick figure swimming just doesn't sufficiently convey how incredibly dangerous it is to wade in that pool area, imo.
I did and it made me want to travel to Vernal Falls to scratch off the 'e' on "bye."bigtroyjon said:Did you really not see this sign that was posted:
Yes it is, getting into moving water 25 feet before a 317ft waterfall is as dumb as it gets.JGS said:I had conflicting views about these kind of deaths. On one hand, i would never in a million years put myself in those situations, but I also know these extreme hikers that want to get off the beaten path.
There's a lot of folks out there that have the invincibility gene that tells them they are too skilled to die whether hiking, driving too fast, doing drugs, or whatever.
Basically, this isn't necessaily the same as planking on a balcony on the Darwin Award scale.
IamMattFox said:I did and it made me want to travel to Vernal Falls to scratch off the 'e' on "bye."
Lonestar said:This reminded me that there was something similar that happened in Indore, India recently. Family crossing what I assume was a river basin, then got stuck as a flash flood swept them over a cliff (now a waterfall).
Bewarned, there is a Youtube Video of this.
Ironic would be a good onehiro4 said:There are now words for this stupidity.
Well, it says two of them were rescued later, if it makes you feel better.Mordeccai said:Wow. Goddamn fuck. I literally just watched a family die.
Wow. Not very many things get to me on the internet any more, but this is really fucking with me.
: [
Dresden said:Well, it says two of them were rescued later, if it makes you feel better.
i don't have the energy for any of them. fuck everyone smoke weed vote Ron Paul.Dastardly Jerks said:Newsflash for the humanity defense squad: People die all the time.
Someone died halfway through me writing this post. Oops, there's another. Aaaand. Yup. Another.
BAM. Child in Africa. Gone. And there's an old woman in Oklahoma - sheets just got pulled over her face.
They all deserve my condolences. I don't have enough energy for stupid people.
Um, yes? Although it does have an amusing mispelling, it's missing two explicit warnings:bigtroyjon said:Did you really not see this sign that was posted:
That is just one of the many, many signs on the way to Vernal falls. Not to mention your own inner sense of staying alive kicks in when you get close to the falls.luxarific said:Um, yes? Although it does have an amusing mispelling, it's missing two explicit warnings:
1.) YOU CAN DIE IF YOU PASS THE RAILINGS
2.) PEOPLE HAVE DIED WADING/SWIMMING IN THE AREA BEYOND THE RAILINGS.
It's certainly better than the no swimming stick figure though.
Does anyone have any photos of the location where this accident occurred?It would be interesting to see how explicit the signage is at that exact location.
In any case, this is still a tragedy, no matter how foolish the victims.
JGS said:I had conflicting views about these kind of deaths. On one hand, i would never in a million years put myself in those situations, but I also know these extreme hikers that want to get off the beaten path.
There's a lot of folks out there that have the invincibility gene that tells them they are too skilled to die whether hiking, driving too fast, doing drugs, or whatever.
Basically, this isn't necessaily the same as planking on a balcony on the Darwin Award scale.
Devolution said:They should just put up big banners and concrete walls since a couple people out of the millions who visit will do stupid shit.
Are people being serious right now?
Not necessarily arguing that as much as I'm arguing that adventurous people do stupid things all the time. When they succeed, they get props for it is all or at least emboldened to keep doing it.alphaNoid said:Yes it is, getting into moving water 25 feet before a 317ft waterfall is as dumb as it gets.
luxarific said:Um, yes? Although it does have an amusing mispelling, it's missing two explicit warnings:
1.) YOU CAN DIE IF YOU PASS THE RAILINGS
2.) PEOPLE HAVE DIED WADING/SWIMMING IN THE AREA BEYOND THE RAILINGS.
It's certainly better than the no swimming stick figure though.
Does anyone have any photos of the location where this accident occurred?It would be interesting to see how explicit the signage is at that exact location.
In any case, this is still a tragedy, no matter how foolish the victims.
luxarific said:Um, yes? Although it does have an amusing mispelling, it's missing two explicit warnings:
1.) YOU CAN DIE IF YOU PASS THE RAILINGS
2.) PEOPLE HAVE DIED WADING/SWIMMING IN THE AREA BEYOND THE RAILINGS.
It's certainly better than the no swimming stick figure though.
Does anyone have any photos of the location where this accident occurred?It would be interesting to see how explicit the signage is at that exact location.
In any case, this is still a tragedy, no matter how foolish the victims.
Lonestar said:This reminded me that there was something similar that happened in Indore, India recently. Family crossing what I assume was a river basin, then got stuck as a flash flood swept them over a cliff (now a waterfall).
Bewarned, there is a Youtube Video of this.
bigtroyjon said:There is a raging 300 foot waterfall on the other side of the railing. There is a picture in the thread of the exact point where the guy climbed over with his kid. If we have to tell people that falling off a 300 foot waterfall could kill them, then we are gonna need a lot more signs all over the world telling people that stupid shit could kill them.
I'm picturing it now. BBQ grill will need a sign saying you could die if you stick your face in the charcoal. Every single crosswalk will need sign saying if you cross the street in front of a car you could die. Roofs of tall buildings will need signs telling people that they will die if they jump off.
/thread by farFLEABttn said:Don't go chasing waterfalls.
There's been one death in the last 16 years. I'm pretty sure more people have died from alcohol poisoning during the festival in that time. Holy Christ I've never drank so much in my life.ArjanN said:Well, except for the people that get crushed or gored to death by bulls.
jamesinclair said:"need more signs!"
No.
Look at this video I took 2 weeks ago. To get to the top, you need to walk past the waterfall. If looking at this, the danger of the situation has not made an impression on you, no sign will.
It's abundantly clear that one wrong step = death. There's absolutely nobody that can look at this waterfall and think "I can survive that"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TPmkqmMdls
Yea that was frustrating to watch.lawblob said:Very sad. It seems like there was maybe a four second window where at least two of them were paralyzed, didn't know what to do, but could have possibly survived if they just went for it.
On any given day, Yosemite National Park rangers arrest drunken drivers, hand out citations for illegal campfires or fine teenagers for spray-painting rocks.
Straying from a trail or climbing over a barrier at a waterfall - a transgression that led to the deaths of three visitors to the park's Vernal Fall this week - almost always goes unpunished, however.
At 1,200 square miles, the park's sheer size is one factor. But Yosemite officials have also concluded that writing tickets each time one of the park's 4 million visitors veers from a designated path would do little to deter such behavior and would, instead, curb enjoyment of one of the nation's most treasured wilderness areas.
"Yosemite and the national parks are inherently wild places," said Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman. "We do all we can do to educate visitors through the Web, our newsletters and public signs - but ultimately, people need to make their own decisions."
That line, between personal responsibility and the role of government oversight, is on the minds of many in a year in which six people have died in the rivers and waterfalls of Yosemite. Record high snowpack and raging runoff have filled Northern California waterways to the brim and created unusually dangerous river conditions well into the summer.
Tuesday's deaths
The latest deaths occurred Tuesday, when three Central Valley residents were swept over Vernal Fall as dozens of other visitors watched in horror. The three, Ramina Badal, 21, Ninos Yacoub, 27, and Hormiz David, 22, had scaled or gone around a metal guardrail upstream of the waterfall to stand in knee-high water.
After taking photos of each other and horsing around in the water, Badal slipped, setting off a chain reaction in which all three were pulled over the 317-foot-high fall and into the churning, boulder-strewn Merced River below. Search teams on Thursday walked the riverbank from the falls to a footbridge about a mile downstream. So far, no bodies have been recovered.
The three hikers apparently missed or ignored warning signs that show a stick figure tumbling over the edge of the waterfall as well as a widely available booklet that advises visitors "never to swim or wade upstream of a waterfall, even if the water appears shallow or calm."
No park rangers witnessed the accident, which occurred at the top of the Mist Trail, a steep trek traversed by some 2,000 people each summer day. If rangers had been there, Gediman said, they would have told the three to get out of the water immediately.
Although federal codes authorize rangers to issue tickets and fines to visitors for disobeying warning signs or putting themselves or others at risk - violations likely classified as disorderly conduct - few such citations are actually issued, Gediman said. Thursday's sunny weather, for instance, drew dozens of people to swim in various pools around the park designated as non-swimming. Rangers in the field probably warned visitors of the potential dangers, Gediman said, but none were likely pulled from the water or issued a ticket.
Huge area involved
For one, it is difficult to regularly patrol all 750 miles of Yosemite's trails. Second, Gediman said, handing reams of tickets would create a police state atmosphere and detract from the wilderness experience.
"As we become a more urbanized society and people become less connected to the outdoors, places like Yosemite become more important places where people can be immersed in nature," Gediman said.
Citations for public nudity, fist fights, drunkenness and even road rage aren't unheard of. More often, though, park police charge people with harming the natural environment by setting off fireworks, poaching wild animals, camping illegally, cutting trees and disturbing archaeological sites. Because the park has its own jail and federal courthouse, those violations can result in overnight incarceration in the park, mandatory court appearances and fines that run into hundreds of dollars.
Whether or not park authorities continue to allow visitors to wander beyond marked trails, Orange County resident Jake Bibee, who witnessed Tuesday's incident, believes blame ultimately rests on the shoulders of those who clambered beyond the barrier.
"When you come up here, if the sign says you are going to die if you go into the water, respect the signs," Bibee said.
mokeyjoe said:When I went to the Grand Canyon some idiot went beyond the barrier in order to take a photo (as if getting that much closer is going to make any bloody difference) and he fell off the edge. Miraculously he survived but I don't know what shape he was in after - presumably not good. I guess he landed on a ledge or something. Still, what a fool.
GraveRobberX said:I know I might get the Really? response, but aren't there safety line or nets near falls?
Why don't they just dam up the whole river so there isn't a waterfall anymore.GraveRobberX said:I know I might get the Really? response, but aren't there safety line or nets near falls?
I remember reading that some of the places people like to "Adventure" w/o precautions, they set up countless lines you can grab onto and/or safety nets
Could they set them up @ this place?, I mean I know the "lesson learned" subject has come and gone, but history repeats itself, so why not try to be prepared for it?
I really don't see how it can be anymore safe without compromising the point of having a national park, especially one like Yosemite.GraveRobberX said:I sense the sarcasm, but I'm just suggesting can anything be done more to prevent this from happening again
The line "Stupid is as Stupid does" rings true
GraveRobberX said:I know I might get the Really? response, but aren't there safety line or nets near falls?
I remember reading that some of the places people like to "Adventure" w/o precautions, they set up countless lines you can grab onto and/or safety nets
Could they set them up @ this place?, I mean I know the "lesson learned" subject has come and gone, but history repeats itself, so why not try to be prepared for it?
GraveRobberX said:I sense the sarcasm, but I'm just suggesting can anything be done more to prevent this from happening again
The line "Stupid is as Stupid does" rings true
evangd007 said:Post the number of people who've died due to being swept away and the number of days since it last happened. Maybe then the threat will be real to those people. They probably assume that the signs are for posterity and that people dying "never happens."
What the fuck at even thinking this is a viable option.GraveRobberX said:I know I might get the Really? response, but aren't there safety line or nets near falls?
I remember reading that some of the places people like to "Adventure" w/o precautions, they set up countless lines you can grab onto and/or safety nets
Could they set them up @ this place?, I mean I know the "lesson learned" subject has come and gone, but history repeats itself, so why not try to be prepared for it?
FLEABttn said:Don't go chasing waterfalls.
GraveRobberX said:I know I might get the Really? response, but aren't there safety line or nets near falls?
Lonestar said:This reminded me that there was something similar that happened in Indore, India recently. Family crossing what I assume was a river basin, then got stuck as a flash flood swept them over a cliff (now a waterfall).
Bewarned, there is a Youtube Video of this.