[normhead]

Once gain, people go to places like this, they know statistically something will happen sooner or later. They for some reason believe it won't happen to them.
Australian woman dies trying to take photo at edge of 262-foot cliff | CNN Travel

Stay safe.

[pentaxus]

Stay on the marked trails.

[thazooo]

Ouch !!

[boriscleto]

Happens several times a year in NY, specially at Kaaterskill Falls. Closer to Syracuse two teenagers fell from the top of Carpenter Falls (~90 feet) and were badly injured.

[sergeremy]

They for some reason believe it won't happen to them.
.

Yes, that's the part I can't wrap my head around.

[photoptimist]

The Darwin Awards were invented for a reason -- to save humanity from its most foolhardy members.

Unfortunately these kinds of idiots force brave first responders to risk their lives to recover the injured and the bodies.

It's too bad people aren't forced to sign a "DO NOT RESCUE, RESUSCITATE, OR RECOVER" order if they want climb over safety railings, etc.

[er1kksen]

At the other end of NY state, one of my most frequent haunts is a gorge called Zoar Valley, which is pretty notorious for people falling off cliffs and dying, usually once or twice a year.

Marked trails? No such thing there really except in a couple limited areas. Always have to treat wild landscapes with respect, and even then accidents still happen to the most capable and skilled outdoorspeople. For the general public there's often a mismatch between the appeal of these places (especially now with endless instagram selfies) and an awareness of their risks and how to navigate them safely.

I find myself less and less inclined to think or say snarky things about the victims. We are fragile humans on a naturally hazardous planet, we can all think we're too smart to get hurt until suddenly we discover otherwise.

[Lhorn]

I heard once that people die going over the falls in Yosemite National Park semi regularly. Despite warnings get into the water and get swept away.

I’d be shocked if the invention of social media and the need to impress others with how awesome you are for Facebook “likes” wasn’t a factor in many of these deaths.

[BarryE]

Years back when I did a bit of climbing and caving, there were a couple of guys I knew who were on call to reprieve bodies from inaccessible places the police could not get too. This is probably not the place to describe the horror they saw. Perhaps a few stark photos at these sites would deter some folk, though on balance, I'm very against signage at beauty spots...

[jatrax]

While in Crater Lake NP a few years ago I witnessed a team of park rangers doing a rope rescue of two guys that had ended up about 200 yards down the slope into the crater. Both were hanging onto little shrubs and could not climb out because the slope kept sliding every time they moved. They were both just a few yards from the real edge where it drops almost vertically into the lake.

Talking to park service people later apparently these two had already been caught on the wrong side of the barrier once by park police and asked to leave the park. They didn't and tried again to go down into the crater. Why? Who knows. There isn't anything on that slope except volcanic ash and a few shrubs. Park police again warned them and asked them to leave but told me there was nothing else they could do. Not even force them to leave.


Three park rangers took several hours out of their day and risked their lives to rope up and descend down a dangerous slope with ash, gravel and boulders falling down past them to rescue two "skater dudes" that should never have been allowed off of asphalt. I still have no idea what they thought they were doing down there. I would have fined them and added rescue costs and banned them for life. Instead they got a verbal warning that such things are dangerous and asked (again) to leave the park.

[stevebrot]

It's too bad people aren't forced to sign a "DO NOT RESCUE, RESUSCITATE, OR RECOVER" order if they want climb over safety railings, etc.

Bone piles at the bases of cliffs might prove a ready deterrent.

In the interest of full disclosure and penitence, I walked past several signs to get the photo below and while I was not quite as close as the fisheye photo makes it appear (far tripod leg about 12" from edge), it was not a place to linger. In retrospect, the risk was not work the shot.


Pentax K-3, Rokinon 8/3.5 Fisheye

The height of the falls is 200' and my location was easily 250' free fall followed by a short tumble or two for a total of about 450' to the bottom.


Steve

[35mmfilmfan]

For many years, I have held the theory that, although the numbers of the human race are increasing, the total intelligence pool available is a constant.

It is indeed sad when such accidents occur - and as has been demonstrated with alarming frequency during the current Covid crisis, too many people take the attitude that the warning notices or restrictions are for everyone but them. Maybe it is just Nature's way of adding a little chlorine to the Gene Pool ...

[Apet-Sure]

I still distinctly remember two different 'adventures' I accomplished in my late teens that could have easily cost me my life. In both cases I was by myself in a remote area. As soon as each was over I realized how dangerous they were. I've heard that the judgement center in your brain isn't fully developed until your early twenties. Perhaps for some it never develops.

[aslyfox]

on my second trip to Yellowstone, I was by myself trying to get good photos of nesting ospreys. my vehicle was pulled off the road. I decided to cross from where I was at across a slope which led to the drop off with the river below.

I stumbled on loose gravel on top of stone and fell. Protecting my camera and the 150-450mm, I twisted and fell on my front spread eagle with the camera and lens held high and was sliding toward the drop off

luckily, I stopped

I laid there thinking that had I gone over, no one would have seen me at the bottom and if I was able to yell, the noise of the river and falls would have prevented me from being heard

i slowly and carefully crawled off the loose gravel

frankly I was stupid

frankly, I was lucky

hopefully I will not do that or something similar ever again

[BigMackCam]

I find myself less and less inclined to think or say snarky things about the victims. We are fragile humans on a naturally hazardous planet, we can all think we're too smart to get hurt until suddenly we discover otherwise.

Like you, I try not to be snarky. I don't, however, believe it's snarky to recognise the folly of taking such risks, especially when you have dependents and family that love and need you. We can all make silly mistakes or fall victim to freak accidents, but that's very different than placing yourself in danger unnecessarily... a practice that seems to have increased with the rise of social media and the need for attention.

I feel sorry for the deceased lady regardless of her misadventure, but I feel especially bad for the husband and child, the authorities who had to recover her body, and everyone who unintentionally witnessed the accident.