About Over four years ago, I read “Touching the Void” and I was always intrigued by situation hikers find themselves in and the incredible things they do to stay alive.
This blog is about learning from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones.
“Better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat”
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Who: A 23-year-old male
Where: Between Summit Cove and Keystone, Colorado
His mistake: He was alone and wearing tennis shoes despite the cold weather
What happened: A man was at a house in Summit Cove and decided to walk back to his house in the Keystone area. It is unclear how far the locations were. Despite the cold temps, and possible snow on the ground, the man decided to make the hike in tennis shoes.
At some point, the man lost his way. Luckily his cell phone was able to get a signal and he called 911. Rescuers were able to use the GPS in his phone to pinpoint his location. At 3:30 a.m., the man was reached by snowmobile. Authorities said the man was very lucky to have gotten cell phone service to call for help.
Read the story here.
Who: A 41-year-old male
Where: Bansko, a ski resort in Bulgaria
His mistake: He hucked a cornice
What happened: A man was skiing at one of the most popular resorts in Bulgaria when he decided to hit a cornice. The skier suffered injuries and minutes after ski patrol arrived, he died. It is unclear how hard he hit the cornice and what injuries he suffered.
Read the story here.
Who: 19-year-old Steven J. Strygulec of Rogersville, MI
Where: Buffalo National River, Arkansas
His mistake: He got separated, then lost a bunch of his gear
What happened: A group of five college students went for a camping trip through Buffalo National River. At some point during the hike, one of their friends – a hearing impaired, inexperienced outdoorsman, and with an injured knee – became separated from the group.
When the group realized their friend wasn’t with them, and he was overdue by several hours, they called for help. Rangers immediately started a hasty search of the area, then made camp until the sun rose.
In the meantime, the lost hiker was struggling. The man was hungry and cold. During a river crossing, he lost his sleeping bag and lighter. He also some how broke his flashlight. He had no map and wandered for hours off trail looking for the way back. He also fell off of a 10-foot cliff.
The next morning searchers found fresh boot marks. They followed the footprints which led them to the lost hiker. He was cold, hungry and exhausted. It is unclear how far off the trail he was, and there are no reports of the extent of his injuries.
Read the story here.
Who: A male ice climber
Where: Officer’s Gulch, The Shroud, Colorado
His mistake: It’s unknown
What happened: Two men were ice climbing on The Shroud route near Copper Mountain and Frisco in Colorado. At some point during the climb, one of the men fell 40 feet. His friend called 911 and 22 volunteer rescuers responded. Rescue teams used snowmobiles to reach the man and transport him to a waiting ambulance. It is unclear how the man fell and what injuries he suffered.
Read the story here.
Who: 42-year-old Todd Bell
Where: Hell’s Canyon, Snowbasin, Utah
His mistake: He got separated from his partner
What happened: A man and a friend planned to snowboard in No Name Canyon, an inbounds area of Snowbasin. During the run, his friend dropped in, but one of the snowboarders ended up dropping into Hell’s Canyon nearby, an out of bounds area. The snowboarder who dropped into Hell’s Canyon set off an avalanche and got buried in 6 to 8 inches of snow.
His friend had no idea where he was and waited at the bottom of No Name Canyon. But when he didn’t see him, the friend continued on their planned path. Two other snowboarders who planned on riding in Hell’s Canyon started to drop in and noticed the avalanche below them. They both saw a jacket in the debris so both rode down and searched for the victim. Neither had probes or beacons, but they were still able to find the victim and dig him out. They called 911 and tried to revive the man, but they were unsuccessful.
Authorities said the man traveled in backcountry terrain when the avalanche danger was high.
Read the story here.
Who: 50-year-old MaryScott King of Huntington Beach
Where: Mineral Creek Basin, Telluride, Colorado
Her mistake: Just a bad freak accident
What happened: A woman went heli-skiing with Carlo Nafarrete, her soon-to-be fiancé. Nafarrete planned to pop the question in the coming days. Unfortunately, during the trip, the woman was skiing in a remote area of Mineral Creek basin on a heli-skiing day.
While crossing a creek, the woman fell head first into the water and her helmet got caught on some rocks. The guide attempted to dam up the water to give her some air to breathe while others tried to rescue her. By the time she was pulled from the water, she had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman was a former competitive speed skater and an avid river rafter, cliff diver, rock climber and backpacker.
Read the story here.
Who: A 20-year-old Austrian snowboarder
Where: Obertauern, Austria
His mistake: Being stupid
What happened: While snowboarding with some friends who were heading down the mountain, the young snowboarder lost his snowboard and climbed down alone to retrieve it.
When he never showed up an hour later his friends called the police. A group of 12 volunteers from the Bergrettung in Obertauern started a search for the missing snowboarder who turned up a short time later and not on the mountain. He was drunk in a hotel bar! He said he forgot to tell anyone he had returned.
Who: A teenage boy
Where: Center Hill Lake, Austin Bottom, Tennessee
His mistake: Bad luck
What happened: A boy was hiking with companions when a large icicle dislodged above him and struck him in the leg. The boy was unable to continue on the hike. Friends alerted authorities. It took three hours for crews to package the boy and carry him out of the steep area. The boy was transported by ambulance to a field where he was then airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.
Read the story here.
Who: A 17-year-old female and 20-year-old male
Where: Appalachian Trail the towns of Beekman and Pawling, CT
Their mistake: They got lost in the dark
What happened: Two young hikers were on the Appalachian Trail and took the wrong trail at dusk. When they realized they were on the wrong trail, they used a cell phone to call 911. Unfortunately they were unable to give rescuers a description of the area.
Two search teams used a K-9 team, night vision and thermal imaging cameras to look for the lost hikers. They were eventually located about 1 ½ miles from a highway. They were uninjured.
Read the story here.
Who: A climber in his 60s
Where: Anvil Point, Dorset sea cliffs, UK
His mistake: It’s unknown
What happened: A man was rock climbing on Anvil Point with three other friends when he somehow fell. It is not clear if the accident was human, mechanical or if recent snowy and wet conditions contributed to the incident.
A bystander who witnessed the accident called for help. Rescue teams were sent to the scene and arrived within 12 minutes. Because of the extent of the injuries, rescue teams decided to airlift the man out. There are no reports on the exact injuries the man suffered. Two people died at the same location two years ago. Authorities warned people about rock climbing in the area after heavy snow and rain.
Read the story here.
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