'80s TV Action Hero
It's the same here. Every year the mountain rescue guys carry down dozens of people (usually English tourists) who tried to go climbing in the Highlands, either at sensible times of the year but without maps, proper clothing or other essentials, or in the winter, when the mountains are out for blood and even all the best gear you can buy sometimes isn't enough.
'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
Even having all of that kit and experience in using it doesn't prevent the fuck-up factor from biting your arse.
Or, in my case, breaking ribs when I slipped on a wet boulder and landed on a pointy one. The only thing that stopped me getting for-realsies-no-shit dead was a daysack I had on the front of my body that had a copy of Cameron Mc Neish's book on the Munros in it.
Catalytic
I see stuff like this in the news year round...
The joys of living in a province surrounded by mountains.
I'm just thankful no one I know has ever been the ones lost out there.
"Lock up your girlfriends, lock up your wives, Grim's on the loose so run for your lives." - Pyrite
Sneering Imperialist
Gregor Clegane can go eat a sack of dicks -
- oh, actual mountains...? Sorry.
With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
I know here in BC that every year around 5-6 tourists get lost in the forest. Some of them are either found dead or never found again. They tend to be European tourists actually. I don't think they seem to understand just how big the forests in Canada are compared to Europe. There are no houses around the corner or anything like that, there is just a few cities seperated by HUGE expanses of forest. Also bears.
We have a long ridgey type range of hills running from Renfrewshire to Ayrshire. (the Gleniffer Braes, part of which is a country park)
It is pretty huge and even though there are roads, it is quite possible to get so lost there you won't find your way out if you start panicking.
Indecisive pumpkin
RESPECT THE MOUNT!
‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.
3 more people are dead in Yosemite. One by Hantavirus and two by being swept over Vernal Falls.
The Hantavirus (this would be four cases there thusfar)is a result of the huge mouse population that moves in when humans kill off all the predators and then bring tons and tons of food and garbage into an area.
The falls is a stupidly tragic thing because it was two children that died this time and the falls were at their least potent. Of course, people go over those falls every year, but the level of stupidity (im not sure thats the word) it takes to die at that place is just sad. There are signs in multiple languages about the danger of the falls and a fence to stop people from getting too close. And I shouldnt have to mention that anyone with kids should be keeping them away from the lip of the falls.
And anyone with water experiance would know that even knee-deep water can drag a man down.
It seems to me the issue here is that people arnt respecting the natural order of the mountain or the passive danger that cliffs and waterfalls represent.
While the breath's in his mouth, he must bear without fail, / In the Name of the Empress, the Overland Mail.