2 more die in Yosemite

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JLP

Social climber

The internet

Oct 30, 2018 - 09:45am PT

I dunno - I'm not seeing risk takers in those Instagrams and comments. It could have been as simple as haste to beat the self timer.

kunlun_shan

Mountain climber

SF, CA

Oct 30, 2018 - 12:44pm PT

^^ I guess "risk taking" is a matter of definition.

Below is from one of the people who fell. Red highlight is mine.

Trump

climber

Oct 30, 2018 - 01:09pm PT

That’s too bad. I’m sorry to hear. My condolences to family and friends.

We do what we do, sometimes for reasons that even we don’t understand. If it were a simple choice of our life or a photo, it would be an easier decision for any of us to make. But it’s never that simple for us risk taking climbers, and it’s not that simple for other people either.

Hoping y’all don’t fall.

the Fet

climber

Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La

Oct 30, 2018 - 01:29pm PT

Very sad. Condolences to friends and family.

Taft point is an easily accessible tall cliff with a small guardrail. It's not surprising this is the site of multiple deaths, just as the top of Vernal falls is. i.e. popular, dangerous spots.

I think for the most part the amount of guard rails and signage the NP uses is about correct. However this spot does seem kind of odd. It's a small, old, guardrail with large open spaces on either side. A guard rail probably encourages people to approach the edge at that point, like an attraction. If there was no guard rail people may be more careful about approaching that edge. The open design and minimum coverage of the guard rail doesn't do much to prevent a fall. This isn't to say the NPS had any liability in this case. People need to be responsible for themselves, that's 99%+ of staying safe, I'm just wondering aloud about ways that may help prevent this type of fall in the future. It is an old rail, and not up to any modern standards, but of course the NPS can't go out and update everything in the vast NP spaces in one fell swoop.

One thing I've thought about for the waterfalls is a sign you can update with the number of deaths. Like at factories that have signs that say "X" Days without an Accident. Static signs seem easy to ignore. But if a sign said Number of Deaths 2018 - 3, 2016 -2, Etc. I think people would stop to read it more often and take it more seriously. I think there was or is a sign like that on the Mist trail.

johntp

Trad climber

Little Rock and Loving It

Oct 30, 2018 - 01:33pm PT

Who knows? Yosar and NP are not saying much. Likely we'll never know.

Whatever the reason, it is sad.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Oct 30, 2018 - 01:59pm PT

It is not advisable to venture to the edge unless you are truly focused.

Fixed it for ya.

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Oct 30, 2018 - 02:20pm PT

One thing I've thought about for the waterfalls is a sign you can update with the number of deaths. Like at factories that have signs that say "X" Days without an Accident. Static signs seem easy to ignore. But if a sign said Number of Deaths 2018 - 3, 2016 -2, Etc. I think people would stop to read it more often and take it more seriously. I think there was or is a sign like that on the Mist trail.

Like this one at the entrance to the Kern Canyon...

Of course it doesn't say much for my reading comprehension that I very nearly drowned in that river two summers ago. It was close, I still get the heebie jeebie's thinking about it. Talk about underestimating what I was getting into.

Cragar

climber

MSLA - MT

Oct 30, 2018 - 02:34pm PT

Hey Kris, were you climbing on river boulders, swimming or what? In late winter months the Kern is fun to explore!

Ksolem

Trad climber

Monrovia, California

Oct 30, 2018 - 02:58pm PT

Midsummer. Swimming. If you take the old road which stays on the south side of the river where the new road crosses and turns to 4 lane, there's one place where the road drops down to the river. There's a campground there, and a take-out for paddlers. It's several hundred feet of flat water with rapids in and out. I got in at the top and tried to reach a big boulder out in the middle. The water was soon over my head, moving fast, and churning in such a way that I could barely stay on top. I hauled my ass out about 20 feet before the rapids at the bottom end. I was so blasted I couldn't sit up.

An out of shape person wouldn't have had a chance. I guess the signs are there for a reason.

I found out later that they were releasing water from the dam.

ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber

ne'er–do–well

Oct 30, 2018 - 09:58pm PT

She also blogged about depression. In a post from April, Moorthy apologized to readers for going silent and "disappearing for more than a year." ..."Between battling the tightening tentacles of depression

Very sad either way - Hopefully it was just an accident, if that even matters now.