Who: 10 climbers part of a group of 17.Where: Northeast Turkey in the Gumushane provinceTheir mistake: Just bad luck.What happened: 17 climbers from the Trabzon region of the Black Sea were climbing Mt. Zigana when an avalanche swept and engulfed the entire group. 10 climbers died, 2 are still in the hospital and five were [...]

Thanks to Bergschlawiner of the MRA International Committee and Seattle Mountain Rescue for sending in this story.

Who: Three young “free style” skiers, ages 18, 22 and 23. Where: Krippenstein, Obertauern, AustriaTheir mistake: Failure to be adequately prepared of equipped for winter “freestyle” skiing conditionsWhat happened: Three young men from Vienna tried to do a freestyle [...]

We finally made it to 100,000 hits. In the seven months I’ve ran this blog, I am surprised that I’ve posted nearly 900 stories of hiker/climber/backpacker injuries and deaths. That’s about four stories a day.

When I started this blog, I never fathomed that so many people would find themselves in trouble while enjoying the outdoors. [...]

Who: 31-year-old Elyse Colvin, a nurse from PortlandWhere: Mt. Hood, OregonHer mistake: Just some bad luck.What happened: A woman and her husband were climbing Mount Hood in the same area where another climber was hit by falling ice earlier this week.

When the couple reached the 10,000 foot mark on the mountain, a basketball-sized chunk of [...]

Who: A 32-year-old hiker from LondonWhere: Langdon Beck, UKHis mistake: Got lost on the trailWhat happened: A man went for a hike and lost the trail in a blizzard that brought heavy snow that was drifting more than 5 feet high.

He found shelter in a grouse butt, an enclosure in the hills for grouse shooters. [...]

Who: A 23-year-old man from ArcataWhere: Mt. Shasta, CaliforniaHis mistake: He was glissading a steep slope wearing cramponsWhat happened: A man decided to glissade down a steep slope above Helen Lake wearing crampons. He became the poster child for wearing crampons when glissading when his crampon caught some ice, his leg snapped and was sent [...]

Who: A 63-year-old man and four kids, ages 7 to 16Where: Red Rock Canyon, NevadaTheir mistake: They just got stuck. They should’ve chosen an easier hikeWhat happened: A man and four kids were hiking in the Lost Canyon area of Red Rock Canyon when they found themselves stranded atop a cliff. They were unable to [...]

Who: A hiker in her 20s who has never been hiking in her lifeWhere: Motatapu Track, AustraliaHis mistake: She’s never hiked in her life, but decided to hike alone on a difficult trailWhat happened: A tourist decided to solo hike along the Shania Twain track (a trail named after the country star since some of [...]

Who: A 37-year-old hiker from CalgaryWhere: Big Sister Mountain, CanadaHis mistake: Decided to glissade down an unstable slopeWhat happened: Two hikers descending Big Sister mountain released an avalanche that engulfed one of them and left the other swimming for his life.

The hiker higher up on the mountain was able to dig himself out. The other [...]

Who: A hiker, no age givenWhere: South Mountain, ArizonaHis mistake: He picked a bad spot to slip.What happened: A solo hiker had been hiking for two hours when he tripped or slipped on a steep slope and into a cactus. The man wasn’t seriously injured, but he was uncomfortable with descending the mountain (more like [...]