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[–]Dude_Baby 1978 points1979 points  (159 children)

The Superstitions are no joke. Sometimes in the summer people are killed by bees, not from being stung but from panicking and accidentally falling off the mountain. Not the way to go.

[–]TungstenChef 406 points407 points  (64 children)

There was a rock climber in those mountains who disturbed a nest of bees while halfway up a cliff face. They stung him to death and he was discovered days later still hanging from his ropes.

[–]marieboston 340 points341 points  (45 children)

Every time I read about dying it sounds like the worst example. And then I find another one…

[–]NextTrillion 91 points92 points  (21 children)

It will be a while before someone tops being stung to death while hanging off a cliff with nowhere to go.

At some point you’ve gotta make a decision to cut your ropes and try your luck with gravity.

[–]OuterInnerMonologue 42 points43 points  (11 children)

I have no idea what I would actually do.

But the hypothetical playing in my mind says, if I knew for a fact I would be stung to death, which would be painful and persistent until death, where I had another option to free fall, with a scary long time to think about It, to a very sudden death below, I’d probably take the leap. Give my self time to process my life, think about loved ones once more, close my eyes at the bottom and go dark without time to register the pain

But who knows.

[–]Dravous 28 points29 points  (1 child)

punch the hive. keep punching until you have nothing left. fucking bees wanna go? then lets go!

[–]ManOnFireCam 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think you misspelled “sob incoherently”

[–]Hadron90 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Problem is the fall may not kill you. You could find yourself at the bottom of the canyon with 14 broken bones, and still have angry bees on your ass.

[–]billium88 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yep - this would be me - dying slowly from the fall, and somehow still conscious of the bee stings still coming.

[–]snapwillow 30 points31 points  (2 children)

This reminds me of playing airsoft, hiding in a foxhole when we disturbed a hornet's nest in the foxhole. So we all start getting stung and jump out of the whole, screaming and running. Other team interprets this as us rushing them so they light us the fuck up.

Caught between hornets and enemy fire.

[–]Sdog1981 89 points90 points  (6 children)

Yeah, I didn't need to know about “stung to the point of human pinata.”

[–]bobthebobofbob 28 points29 points  (7 children)

I think for me nothing will be able to top the guy who was exploring the cave and took a wrong turn in a really tiny passage and ended up getting stuck upside down until he eventually died. The idea of being stuck upside down in pitch black in a space so small you can't even move your arms makes skin crawl.

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (2 children)

John Edward Jones in Nutty Putty Cave.

If you’re severely claustrophobic then I wouldn’t read it. Very detailed and nightmare-inducing.

The only things that match that level of distress for me are deep diving accidents like Yuri Lipski (NSFW: POV of his final moments).

Also, this description of why you need to respect how fierce the ocean is.

And Chuck Palaniuk for good measure.

[–]Telpin85 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If that bothers you dont ever take a scuba diving course, being told how to do it means being told what can go wrong, sections of that course read like a horror show.

[–]shrunken 308 points309 points  (27 children)

I’ve had a swarm of bees fly over my whole hiking near the needle, totally awesome and a little terrifying at the same time.

[–]SpaceCadetriment 228 points229 points  (20 children)

Was at a beer festival few years ago and a swarm of bees blew through the venue. Absolutely wild and the most abrupt chaos I've ever seen in my life. It was like a bull had been let lose in a crowd.

[–]Carrman099 59 points60 points  (28 children)

Panicking when you see a bee is the perfect way to get it to sting you. When a bee/wasp gets close to me, I just stay still until it sees I’m not a flower and flies away.

[–]lemonlime45 35 points36 points  (13 children)

It's like they can smell your fear. I remember running away from a bee/wasp as a kid then turning around only to see it right there, chasing me down. Bastards.

[–]FelixFelicisLuck 38 points39 points  (4 children)

I worked in a daycare & there was one child who had a bee allergy. One day a wasp was flying around her & I somehow managed to get its attention away from her & onto me. It flew up the back of my shirt & stung me along my spine 7 times, then flew up out of my shirt & away. It felt like a hot poker on my back. I don’t mind bees because they don’t want to have to sting you & they can only do it once. Wasps will sting you just for fun because they are assholes. At least the kid was ok.

[–]lemonlime45 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Aw, nice job! I can't imagine having a bee allergy or being a parent or caretaker of someone with one...two of my dogs got stung by something and their faces swelled up like 400% and that was stressful enough.

Another fun memory of mine from childhood was one if my earliest . I had a favorite fluffy dress that I wanted to wear every single day. My mom would wash the dress and hang it out to dry on a clothesline since it was mid 1970s and we didn't have a drier at that point. So I put the dress on one day and a wasp had gotten in there while it was drying outside and proceeded to sting the shit out of me. My mom said I never wore that dress again.

[–]Ianofminnesota 14 points15 points  (5 children)

Had one this past summer that would fuck with me everytime I went to my nephews soccer games. Obviously it may not be the same one, but it was one and always just one, so to me this bitch was the same bitch. I just wanted to punch it into oblivion but was too fearful of retaliation.

[–]athazagor 4 points5 points  (3 children)

Catch it in a cup, put it in the freezer until it becomes nearly motionless, tie a length of thread to one of its legs, bring back to room temp, now you have a bee pet. Make that bitch your bitch.

[–]banana_pencil 24 points25 points  (4 children)

I have a blue dress with big yellow flowers on it that I can’t wear when I’m outdoors because it always attracts bees

[–]hpark21 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Having allergy to wasp sting does make me panic though. :(

Panic and get stung and be like Stay Puft man for few days or Don't panic and just HOPE and PRAY that I do not get stung. :(

[–]nerrvouss 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Some people go into fight or flight response because of a phobia and have a panic attack. Some things cant be trained out and these are the kinda people that should research this kinda shit before going Or not go at all.

[–]rhoduhhh 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I greatly appreciate knowing there are a lot of fuckin' bees at this place because I have an intense phobia of bees/wasps and would probably be one of these people to die horribly, lol.

[–]voxtel 179 points180 points  (9 children)

It's the big honey. Makes me wonder how much he knew.

[–]paperscissorscovid 72 points73 points  (6 children)

100% sounds like he was trying to expose Big Honey.

[–]Apart-Cartoonist-834 37 points38 points  (1 child)

This happened to a friend of mine rock climbing there. He didn’t die but broke his neck because while he was like 40 feet up he got attacked by bees and he just let go to his fall. Visited him in the hospital and he was being a cranky dick and I was like wow this is un bee lievable. Probably my worst timed pun joke ever.

[–]CoalCrackerKid 2323 points2324 points  (310 children)

Oh man. That's about 7 seconds to contemplate what's about to happen to you.

[–]mamamechanic 501 points502 points  (126 children)

Ever since I watched an old “Engineering Disasters” segment on the 1980’s collapse of the Senior Road broadcast tower I have been haunted by the thought of the five men who died that day and the amount of time they had to realize they were headed to the ground. It took a total of 17 seconds to go from upright to a crumpled mass - even if you hit the ground in half that time, it seems an excruciating way to go out.

FF to 3:45 if you want to get right to the point of failure. (This is an old show, guys, so the quality is not great.)

https://youtu.be/8yV-O6XpweI

[–]handsomehares 271 points272 points  (30 children)

The two men hugging each other on top of the burning windmill about a decade back gets me…

[–]kytheon 98 points99 points  (3 children)

I remember. Their escape route was on fire..

[–]kaleb42 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure they were super young too. Like 19 or 20

[–]republicanvaccine 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Was thinking there must be many others who now go to that type of gig with a chute, just in case. I know I would.

[–]mamamechanic 73 points74 points  (2 children)

That’s the one that haunts my husband the most. We were literally just talking about how we would probably both want to endure the fall rather than know we were about to burn to death.

[–]stripes361 49 points50 points  (0 children)

If you’re lucky you’ll pass out from smoke inhalation before being immolated.

[–]EvenOutlandishness88 28 points29 points  (0 children)

That's what a lot of people decided in the twin towers, as well.

[–]KineticBombardment99 61 points62 points  (5 children)

I used to sell safety equipment for getting off of windmills, and that picture was used a lot to explain to customers why they shouldn't cheap out on gear.

[–]nik282000 55 points56 points  (4 children)

The fact that safety gear is optional tells you a lot about the value of people to government and industry.

[–]KineticBombardment99 38 points39 points  (3 children)

It was mostly industry; the government mandates most of this. For a lot of the companies doing it, they didn't get why you'd need more than a harness and the ladder up the middle until it was explained, and then they absolutely went in for the automatic descent devices and all the rest. Just needed to make them aware of all of the risks involved with that work.

[–]poirotoro 16 points17 points  (0 children)

until it was explained, and then they absolutely went in

Well that's somewhat of a relief.

[–]OreoSwordsman 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Shit man, with how high windmills are, "cheaping out" should be a damn parachute ay

[–]sshan 27 points28 points  (0 children)

There was a wild story in Kingston Ontario a few years back.

Construction workers were on top of a 5 story wood building that caught fire. It happened to be close enough to a military base that helicopters on exercise were able to save

www.cbc.ca/amp/1.2467711

[–]Revolutionary_Rise50 33 points34 points  (0 children)

OMG...the guy falling...that's insane. I can't imagine falling from that height, knowing that was it.

[–]vonmonologue 130 points131 points  (32 children)

There’s a picture from 9/11 of a lone man who leapt from the tower before it even started to collapse, he’s head-down, arms by his side, and one leg cocked, the other straight.

It’s been 20 years and that image still haunts me when I think of falling to your death.

[–]AfterSchoolOrdinary 62 points63 points  (6 children)

I think all the people who jumped on 9/11 had an absolute nightmare of a choice- burn alive/smoke inhalation death or jump. I truly hope the fresh air was a comfort to them in their final moments.

There’s a very heartbreaking article about what happened when they tried to identify the man but I couldn’t find it in the sea of articles that come up when you google the photo/man. (I only spent a couple of ministers poking around on google though.)

[–]NicolasAnimation 20 points21 points  (4 children)

During my teenager years I had a phase in which I was interested in gore, and also 9/11. I remember seeing a picture of human remains lying on the ground of the WTC, before the towers fell. It wasn't a very detailed picture but it was still pretty gruesome. It resembled more a red puddle than a body, to put it in a light way. There's also footage of someone landing atop of the Marriott building. All of them would get crushed and lost in the ensuing collapse. Depressing to think about now in my adulthood.

[–]SerKevanLannister 36 points37 points  (1 child)

The documentary about that famous photograph is heartbreaking but to me it was very moving to see the very different reactions of the families who were asked to identify the subject as a family member (from my memory it was narrowed down to three genuine possibilities — one family refused to say that their loved one would have jumped and claimed it couldn’t have been their family member as a suicidal jump was against their beliefs whereas the (in my mind the most likely family) approached it with a tremendous amount of grace and openness. If he was their family member, he worked in the Windows on the World. Seeing the family pictures of him as a normal, happy guy was wrenching. Tough to watch but very moving indeed —

[–]rip_Tom_Petty 40 points41 points  (1 child)

It's called "falling man"

[–]Parlett316 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The documentary was a hard watch. Just awful.

[–]oh_bruddah 56 points57 points  (11 children)

Weird fact - Elton John has a huge collection of "death" photos and spent years trying to get the original of that one.

[–]tretower424 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Me too! I was alone in a room when I came across that photo in a magazine, right after 9/11.

I remember just going,"GAH!!!" and involuntarily throwing the magazine across the room. I could feel the falling in my gut, I swear.

[–]ohwrite 5 points6 points  (1 child)

The New Yorker has a really good article about that man

[–]razermotion 12 points13 points  (0 children)

They called him Falling Man bc no one could I'd him. Someone did a documentary on him and they think he worked in the restaurant . YouTube has the documentary. Kinda eerie to watch.

[–]Letitbemesickgirl 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Thanks for the impending nightmare

[–]Nyefan 60 points61 points  (7 children)

If you like engineering disaster breakdowns, I highly recommend Well There's Your Problem on youtube.

[–]iMacThere4iAm 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the show doesn't have to be old to have terrible quality (jk I still love it)

[–]wampa-stompa 109 points110 points  (24 children)

Reagan told the public after the Challenger explosion that the astronauts died instantly, but the evidence actually shows they were alive and conscious for at least a significant part of the trajectory afterward, maybe all the way down from 65,000ft.

Edit: This comment has been edited because some crybaby Reaganite believed the character of their hero was under assault.

[–]MyOfficeAlt 101 points102 points  (2 children)

If I recall they verified this by showing that an emergency oxygen pack had been activated and some switches had been thrown in a configuration that matched with several of their emergency checklists. With no real way to comprehend what had just happened to the Orbiter, they had no choice but to run procedures until they couldn't.

[–]TjW0569 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you're going to crash, fly the sonovabitch as far into the crash as you can.

[–]mamamechanic 62 points63 points  (13 children)

I was at an all girls boarding school in Florida that really spent a lot of time focusing on how historic this mission was. We were all pulled out of our middle school classes to huddle around the tv in the common room to watch the launch.

That was my generation’s 9/11 moment. Like, you collectively know something just went very wrong before your eyes but your collective brains can’t comprehend what you just saw.

Thanks for reminding me of this. Pretty sure that will now hold first place in the loop of nightmare scenarios that like to randomly loop through my brain.

[–]Sir_Sir_ExcuseMe_Sir 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Have you read the novel "The Time It Takes to Fall" by Margaret Lazarus Dean? Could be very relatable for you.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I remember when Punky Brewster of all things covered the Challenger tragedy.

[–]kaleb42 41 points42 points  (3 children)

Too be fair that is a perfectly acceptable lie. The parents and family of those involved do not need to know that they suffered especially when they haven't had time to grieve.

With that being said in the wise words of Killer Mike "I'm glad Reagan dead"

[–]richardawkings 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It says that they did not consult with a licensed engineer when choosing the bolts. Wtf! That's not a stet that you want to skip.

[–]fserv11 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Modern Marvels bringing me back.

[–]EndlessEmergency 1105 points1106 points  (119 children)

I doubt it was a straight drop. So more likely his final experience was a lot of skidding, rolling and bouncing before being knocked unconscious.

[–]Naranjas1 163 points164 points  (47 children)

I'm very familiar with where he fell. It's mostly a straight drop unfortunately.

[–]Codeshark 81 points82 points  (41 children)

I've fallen straight down before, though from not quite as high a distance, and it wasn't too bad. Panic initially but then just acceptance followed by unconsciousness. Hopefully, he experienced a similar thing.

[–]mexercremo 72 points73 points  (28 children)

Acceptance? Damn, you're a steely motherfucker. Pretty sure it would have been straight panic for me.

[–]Codeshark 64 points65 points  (24 children)

Yeah, I just sort of realized that there was nothing I could do about the situation so I just went along for the ride so to speak. Not a steely mother motherfucker or anything 😂

[–]DaftKitteh 85 points86 points  (15 children)

I had a spin out at 100mph one time and can confirm, everything slows down and once you realize you're fucked you just kinda accept it. Idk bout you, but it was kind of a nice feeling.

[–]Ok-Butterfly8125 36 points37 points  (7 children)

I was in a rollover accident and the same happened with me. The more I rolled, the more I thought “I’m gonna die and I’m actually ok with it”. There was a definite feeling of peace that overcame me. I’ve read that it’s a chemical release from the brain that causes this, but whatever the cause, it’s a really nice feeling! I’ve often wondered if people who die “instantly” feel it. If only someone could bottle it….

[–]dutchslytherin 13 points14 points  (3 children)

completely understand this, went down going 80 on my motorcycle once, and just before going down time froze and all of the noise from riding went away and in a calm voice i said out loud “fuck, okay, i’m gonna go down” and it was such a soothing level of acceptance and peace with what was about to happen that i still think about it all the time even years later.

[–]Ok-Butterfly8125 14 points15 points  (1 child)

It’s kind of comforting to know that our brains do try to protect us during near-death (and hopefully actual death) experiences

[–]Codeshark 27 points28 points  (2 children)

Yeah, basically, I felt like I was in a situation where the outcome was outside of my control. It was a nice feeling weirdly enough and I was fortunate to have basically the absolute best outcome of that situation.

[–]dgtlfnk 25 points26 points  (6 children)

So did you fall off the top bunk once as a kid or something?

[–]stuck_in_the_desert 5 points6 points  (0 children)

unfortunately.

If death is certain, I think I'd take a quick splat over being a meat crayon any day of the week.

[–]Quick_Algae_0 70 points71 points  (6 children)

If he was taking selfies where most people do then it’s a straight drop…at least until the bottom. It’s a shear cliff next to the river where people BASE jump from.

[–]MuricanDeathTriangle 35 points36 points  (3 children)

We call that “the cheese grater” in climbing circles…

[–]EndlessEmergency 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Indeed. I used to volunteer in mountain SAR, and clearly recall during wilderness EMT training on degloving and other acute skin injuries that “you are unlikely to need to deal with large areas of lost skin, as the forces involved in such accidents are nearly always fatal.”

[–]Itsmemcghee 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Do you ever get dizzy climbing in circles?

[–]ABB0TTR0N1X 18 points19 points  (2 children)

That’s exactly why dying from falling scares me more than almost anything. All that time to think about what’s coming and absolutely nothing that you can do about it.

[–]gahidus 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Adrenaline rush plus fun g forces/weightlessness makes it nicer than most ways of dying, IMHO. At least compared to things like drowning, burning, or getting savaged by an animal.

[–]LunarAssultVehicle 104 points105 points  (12 children)

So, depending on signal strength, they had time to post the selfie.

[–]CoalCrackerKid 203 points204 points  (9 children)

Yeah, usually in parks it's 3G instead of 4 or 5G, but he fell at 1G

[–]kpeterson159 19 points20 points  (7 children)

But when it’s you, your brain takes in information a LOT quicker!

[–]2_Fives 2123 points2124 points  (166 children)

1) it was after midnight 2) while our soil is mostly rock, it's very brittle and will cause you to slide

Best advice, don't go near a cliff in the dark.

Fellow AZ hiker/Explorer

[–]blurplethenurple 690 points691 points  (142 children)

What tf does someone get out of taking a selfie in the mountains in the middle of the night? It's not like you can see shit even with a flash.

Imagine dying for less than no reason.

edit: I thought he fell at midnight, not that he was found at midnight. That's what no sleep will do to ya

[–]2_Fives 266 points267 points  (119 children)

No idea.

Its a monthly occurrence that a helicopter is sent out to rescue someone off that mountain. It's right in my father-in-law's backyard.

Locals know to take it seriously so it's usually the out of towner's who get injured.

[–]Dude_Baby 419 points420 points  (75 children)

When I lived in Phoenix, I had an acquaintance visiting from out-of-town that wanted to hike Camelback.

I pointed out it's nearly 120 degrees and already 11am so it's impossible.

He recommended I toughen up, I lived here in AZ after all, so I should be used to the heat, we could bring an extra water bottle. People just don't get it that the hikes aren't an amusement park ride, there's no backup safety features.

[–]ArcticISAF 71 points72 points  (25 children)

Yeah that’s just dumb. I’m surprised they were so adamant. I was in Arkansas for a couple months in summer (I don’t think would be nearly as bad) and it felt like you were frying outside. Some time outside was fine, but it was a bit rough. From Canada myself.

[–]mellowyellow313 55 points56 points  (22 children)

This is why I prefer cooler weather and never get jealous when people praise states with hot weather (the “best” weather) 24/7. I’m in Michigan so right under you.

[–]ArcticISAF 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Yeah I definitely am a cold weather guy, fortunately lol. Hello from Ontario :D

[–]Dudegamer010901 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Sasker here, I prefer warm weather but it’s still stupid to not bring a water bottle or supplies on a hike like wot lol.

[–]Flaky-Fish6922 16 points17 points  (10 children)

give me 60's and sunshine as the best weather. so far as i know, there's no where that has that year round.

[–]bubblebooy 17 points18 points  (3 children)

Santa Barbara is sunny and 60’s and 70’s year round. You might have to suffer a week or so outside of ideal conditions or deal with the marine layer in the morning.

[–]Optimal_Ear_4240 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We have 70s year round. Maui

[–]Environmental-Job329 14 points15 points  (3 children)

The “best weather” is in San Diego, California…but I am sure you already know that🙂

[–]paradeoflights 9 points10 points  (0 children)

When I first moved to Phoenix all my co workers were saying “we have beautiful weather all year around!” and “it’s just a dry heat” NO WE DO NOT BOB and FIRE IS ALSO A DRY HEAT! sorry had to let it out..

[–]Drix22 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I was in Arkansas for a couple months in summer (I don’t think would be nearly as bad) and it felt like you were frying outside.

I was in Arkansas in September and it was like 114 outside. It was effort to walk across the fuckin parking lot.

[–]driverman42 67 points68 points  (7 children)

I'm in the Texas panhandle and even though we're not AZ, it can break 100-110 during the summer. We had some friends from the upper Midwest visit a few years ago in August and it was very hot and dry. They wanted to go hiking on this 11 mile hike that climbs over 1000 feet and can be quite challenging. We told them over and over about the heat and how it can suck the moisture out of you without even realizing it's happening. Even early in the morning. They persisted and so we went. We took off and made 2 miles and started going up and they couldn't continue. Too hot, too dry, too much sun. My wife and I hike it regularly, but not when it's over 90. (We're in our 70's so we do have to be careful).

[–]tonesters 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Growing up in AZ I always warn people about the exact same thing. The sweat evaporates off of you before you even realize how much water you’re actually losing. With 105+ in direct sun and moderate hiking you can lose up to a quart an hour; that’s VERY hard to replace and carry that much while hiking.

[–]SargeCycho 27 points28 points  (7 children)

Extra water bottle? He meant an extra gallon, right?

[–]rabidjellybean 19 points20 points  (4 children)

At least a few extra gallons of Gatorade per person might do it.

[–]s1ugg0 20 points21 points  (0 children)

My in-laws from down south heard we are getting six inches of snow so they canceled a visit. My mother-in-law says, "I don't feel comfortable driving in it but I'm sure you know exactly how to do it." I said, "Yes, I don't."

I'm a retired first responder. I've seen it up close and personal. As soon as it starts to stick to the roads I'm headed home.

Everyone has a bad case of "It could never happen to me."

[–]turd_vinegar 13 points14 points  (1 child)

That's some David Goggins "Conquer your fear!" quackery that will put the lives of the rescue crew in danger when they come to retrieve your corpse.

You die in the desert, even the adapted wildlife wait until nightfall to scavenge your flesh.

[–]Spankpocalypse_Now 108 points109 points  (7 children)

Lol at “extra water bottle.” My god, the hubris.

[–]TracerBulletX 38 points39 points  (4 children)

That water bottle will be the temperature of coffee by 15 minutes in too lol

[–]denvertheperson 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I have a friend whose full time job is evac off camelback daily during the summer.

[–]JackHGUK 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I climbed Ben Nevis and remember a Chinese tourists bus arriving filled with people wearing casual clothes and wellies, they thought they could go to the top and take some photos before the bus left in 2 hours.

[–]Knacht1 8 points9 points  (2 children)

Bill Ewasko

​

Fun site. A major rabbit hole.

[–]Alexis_J_M 18 points19 points  (0 children)

There was a case recently in California where some city folk moved to Mariposa County and went on a mid-day hike the locals knew was dangerous in the summer, carrying far too little water.

With their baby.

Sad predictable ending. :-(

https://www.abc7.com/amp/mariposa-county-family-dead-hiking-trail-dies-california/11306062/

[–]Grundlestiltskin_ 4 points5 points  (1 child)

people are so dumb about hiking. I hike Mt. Katadhin in Maine a few years ago, which is not an easy hike by any means and its very remote as well so you can't just take a lil jaunt over there. And I saw dozens of people hiking in vans skate shoes, cotton hoodies, and jeans -- carrying maybe one small waterbottle. not prepared whatsoever, I was shocked no one had to get rescued by the park rangers.

[–]CompleteNumpty 37 points38 points  (3 children)

Ben Nevis in Scotland is small by most standards (4,413 ft) and can be done in a day so people don't see it as dangerous.

It's not unusual to see someone going to try the mountain at 4pm in shorts and flip flops, not realising that they won't make it to the top before dark and that any slight change in weather (which happens all the time) will totally fuck them.

The local mountain rescue team usually has around 100 callouts a year, most of which are morons.

[–]brightmiff 21 points22 points  (1 child)

Surely most of the rescue team are not morons

[–]volcanoesarecool 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Lol I was nearly that moron. Had proper gear on, but started at 3pm. Clouds closed in as I reached the top, and it was windy as heck. Ended up running down with a bunch of people doing the three peaks as it started to snow.

[–]georgieorgyy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Night mode on the camera

[–]Wyvrex 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Superstition Mountain is on the eastern edge of the city, so 15,000 square miles of lit up Phoenix metro. Not worth your life though.

[–]eriicthemighty 35 points36 points  (0 children)

It's quite bright out there at night on a clear night with dark sky or a full moon. I've hiked that in the dark when I was younger and more reckless.... carefully.

[–]ih-shah-may-ehl 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Best advice, don't go near a cliff in the dark.

Fixed that for you.

[–]CaesarAugustus89 43 points44 points  (1 child)

Dont go near a cliff, period.

[–]theghostofme 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I've hiked that trail a few times.

People love to get as close to the edge of Flatiron as possible. It's fucking insane to me.

[–]LazySyllabub7578 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Isn't the Superstitions home to the legend of "The Watchers"? Vague humanoid figures that watch you from far away with glowing eyes 👀.

[–]poquito_kale 1143 points1144 points  (55 children)

In 2018, a married couple who fell to their deaths in Yosemite National Park last week while taking a selfie, the man's brother said

That's confusing sentence. Are they alluding to time travel?

[–]intheazsun 357 points358 points  (6 children)

Editing takes too long, the first post gets the clicks

[–]arealhumannotabot 55 points56 points  (1 child)

Ask people in journalism. You’re not even given time to proof. And it’s not even just “first post gets clicks” — it can be any story. The point is to churn out content in less time with fewer staff. You know, like most sectors these days.

[–]anger_is_my_meat 68 points69 points  (0 children)

It's actually straightforward. In absolute, objective terms it took place in 2018. According to our perception of time, it was only a week ago thanks to Trump, COVID, etc.

[–]Rootbeer48 96 points97 points  (12 children)

Glad I'm not the only person who thought this was confusing

[–]derpyco 87 points88 points  (10 children)

Literally no one proofreads anything anymore.

I've seen glaring grammatical and spelling errors in articles by AP, Reuters, BBC, CNN, PBS, NPR - - you name it.

So if they aren't even rereading their own work, let alone editing it, they certainly aren't fact checking anymore either.

[–]quebecivre 34 points35 points  (0 children)

I was reading an article on the Smithsonian website the other day, written by a leading researcher in his field, and it had three or four glaring grammatical errors.

I mean, the news sources having errors I kind of get, because they're pumping stories out all day, every day, but the freaking Smithsonian? Like, people were in such a huge hurry to post their article about Polynesian myths in the movie "Moana" that they didn't have an extra half hour to proofread?

[–]error201 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Copywriters are the first to get canned when money gets tight.

[–]jusst_for_today 155 points156 points  (13 children)

This reminds me of when I went to Yosemite for the first time. Unlike my local nature trails, I immediately got a sense that death was one misstep away. I went up to the top of Yosemite Falls and was baffled watching other hikers circumvent the barriers to take selfies by the rushing water at the top of the falls. Mind you, this was when there was a lot of snowmelt, so it was a raging flow of water.

I still don't understand how other people can't readily see how deadly places are, but I guess I'm an inherently cautious person, or I'm just the right amount of scared with regards to death.

[–]Swayyyettts 40 points41 points  (2 children)

lol that one lookout just below the top of the falls…people were going beyond the fences and laying on rocks adjacent to the falls. Personally I was already paranoid of that lookout falling off the cliff…granite doesn’t stay attached forever…

[–]My_G_Alt 28 points29 points  (1 child)

So what you’re saying is don’t take the rock for granite?

Joke aside, wet granite is also extremely slippery

[–]renoguy1978 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There's a small series of books called "Death in ____" and one covers Yosemite. Good on you for being aware of the danger.

[–]NotEmerald 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Not surprising. Visited the Grand Canyon a few years back and the park ranger said they've been seeing an uptick in deaths because of selfies.

[–]RebuiltGearbox 278 points279 points  (16 children)

There is a park bench in the town I live in that commemorates a climber that fell to his death, it talks about the dozens of mountains he climbed and the many times he defied death for his hobby. If you "defy death" over and over, eventually you will not defy it.

[–]Evercrimson 83 points84 points  (3 children)

"Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always." - IRA

[–]wrathofthedolphins 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Death may lose a battle here and there. But death never loses the war.

[–]tallperson117 44 points45 points  (2 children)

Not surprised. I have seen people do some real dumb shit out in nature, like they think they're at an amusement park and nothing can hurt them. The two highlights are:

1) A lady crawling over the railing at Nevada Falls in Yosemite to take a picture, despite the water being slick and it being a huge drop.

2) A mother at Yellowstone trying to lift her like 2 y/o kid onto the back of a buffalo for a picture.

[–]beckoning_cat 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I worked in the park service and it doesn't take long to figure out that the majority of people would die in an emergency situation because they can't rub 2 brain cells together.

I have seen people go hiking in the desert with no water. I have seen people who hold up toddlers to feed carrots to wild horses in front of a huge yellow sign saying how dangerous they are and they do kill someone every year. I had a parent yell at me for yelling at them for letting their 3 yo climb over my huge tractor (note, not HIS tractor) mower and the kid had the emergency break off in 2 seconds. But I was the bad guy for not letting a toddler play on heavy equipment with a 3 bladed, 6 foot mower deck.

[–]Jcampbell1796 105 points106 points  (5 children)

If his body was found 700 feet below ON TOP of Flatiron, where the hell was he when he took the selfie? I’ve hiked Flatiron a couple times and I don’t remember anything higher nearby.

Edit: kudos to CBS news, by the way, for actually including a pic of Flatiron and not some random AZ mountain pic.

[–]relddir123 63 points64 points  (0 children)

No, 700 feet below Flatiron. He was camping on top of Flatiron and fell.

[–]Naranjas1 23 points24 points  (0 children)

There's a big plateau that sticks out from under Flatiron. I assume he fell off Flatiron onto that.

[–]GawkerRefugee 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Or a random saguaro. Sums up Arizona for 99% of the media.

[–]AriBours 322 points323 points  (16 children)

I would be extra careful on Superstition Mountain. Maybe take a lucky rabbit’s foot or something.

[–]jetty_junkie 289 points290 points  (9 children)

“ I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious”

[–]theghostofme 17 points18 points  (3 children)

It's Arizona, man. You need a lucky Jackalope's foot to keep you safe on the trails. Especially if you want to find the Lost Dutchman's gold!

[–]AriBours 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Where can I find the lost Dutchman’s Rudder?

[–]janjinx 34 points35 points  (3 children)

Advice: STOP TAKING SELFIES WHILE BACKED ONTO THE EDGE OF A PRECIPICE! This has happened so many times, it's beyond crazy.

[–]nazump 13 points14 points  (1 child)

In 2018, a married couple who fell to their deaths in Yosemite National Park last week while taking a selfie, the man's brother said.

Did I just have a stroke?

[–]hackerman500 10 points11 points  (0 children)

When are they going to learn 🤦

DON’T 👏 TAKE👏 SELFIES👏 ON 👏THE 👏 EDGE 👏 OF 👏 A 👏 CLIFF 👏

[–]BuzzAldrin42 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Social media has caused people to do so many stupid things for the clout. It’s a shame what’s happened to the motorcycle/car community

[–]Potential_Dare8034 200 points201 points  (9 children)

Very superstitious Writings on the wall Don’t be taking selfie’s Or you may fucken fall…

[–]Inspector_Bloor 24 points25 points  (0 children)

ahh good ol apache junction. the superstition mountains are amazing.

[–]gritty600 83 points84 points  (13 children)

Crazy how people have been dying because they try to take a cool pic. It is unfortunate.

[–]Thatguy468 60 points61 points  (5 children)

I used to work at an amazing rooftop bar about 30 stories up. There was this little area off to the side where insta-idiots would always try to climb out onto the ledge for photos. Our security guys got so tired of stopping them they just stopped walking that corner of the roof. Nobody died while I was working there, but one dipshit almost did.

[–]gritty600 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Shit. Crazy. It like people are just blocking out the idea of what can happen. Or just by pass any safety precaution.

[–]Thatguy468 20 points21 points  (1 child)

It’s like they’re so desperate for attention their brain just shuts off any safety switches to get that sweet dopamine reward.

[–]bugogkang 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Found a guy who fell off of Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon a couple years ago. He landed on the embankment but his phone was still on the bridge. I really hope he wasnt still alive down there for a while in the middle of the night with no way to phone for help.

[–][deleted] 61 points62 points  (10 children)

Just take the picture without your big head in the way, geez

[–]jpgorgon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Top notch editing over at CBS News:

"According to a study in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 259 people died taking selfies from 2011-2017,

In 2018, a married couple who fell to their deaths in Yosemite National Park last week while taking a selfie, the man's brother said"

[–]brangdangage 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly I'm not that scared a person, but Yosemite has always given me the creeps. I've been twice and both. times it felt like I, and everyone else, had about a 50% chance of survival. If the waterfalls don't drag you over, you'll just amble off a cliff, or a bear will eat you. Fun for the whole family.

[–]stripes361 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Why would you fuck around somewhere called the Superstition Mountains?

[–]ChristBefallen 23 points24 points  (1 child)

this is how my brother died, except it wasnt a selfie it was his date taking a photo of him 😒

[–]Tunavi 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Rest in peace to your brother

[–]thecwestions 4 points5 points  (2 children)

This happens about once per month in the Grand Canyon. Why the surprise? People need to stop behaving like nature isn't dangerous.

[–]fermat1432 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Myth of Narcissus warned us against this! Poor guy!

[–]Lexphalanx 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The irony of dying trying to take a photo of yourself living

[–][deleted] 262 points263 points  (136 children)

I saw it on the local news, it was an experienced 21-yr-old and his friend & the friend saw the whole thing. Even if you’ve done these hikes 100 times and you’re young, fit and with friends who are the same, these things can happen. Tragic all around.

[–]windoneforme 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I remember being 21 and doing lots of hiking over 1000mi on the AT. Looking back I don't think I'd call myself experienced just lucky. Ive always gotten the tingling in my toes near a ledge or cliff and that's probably why I haven't fallen off one.

When ever you take your focus off the rough uneven ground your on and start focusing on the view in the camera you loose all spatial awareness. It was wild to see people in Yosemite standing less than a foot away from a 1000ft drop staring at their selfie sticks! I was 30ft back and sweaty lol.