Grand Canyon visitor plunges 400 feet off South Rim to death

[Little Tich]

Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A 29-year-old Nevada man accidentally fell about 400 feet (120 meters) to his death while visiting the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, a park official said on Friday.

Juan Carreras-Soto, of Las Vegas, was on a visit with his family on Thursday when he was reported to have tumbled off the edge of a rim trail east of Mather Point, said park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski.

His body was recovered on Friday by a park helicopter.

Park officials were notified of the incident late on Thursday afternoon, but suspended any recovery operations until the next morning because of the rugged terrain, the time of day and over safety concerns.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/grand-canyon-visitor-plunges-400-feet-off-south-232156817.html

[RobertEarl]

1. I almost tried that

Was sitting on the rim with my feet hanging. Big wind came and blew my hat off. I made a motion to grab it. In a few seconds I was 5 feet from the rim.

[William Seger]

8. When I was there, I saw a guy jump out to a rock several feet from the rim

... to take a picture -- as if being a few feet closer made a difference! And he wasn't even trying to get a unique angle; he just took shots out into the canyon like everyone else. Then he had to get back, but the rock he was on was a few feet lower than the rim, so he sort of just threw himself head first and clawed his way on, still clinging to the camera with one hand. I was actually surprised that he made it. This is a bad place to do stupid stuff.

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. When we visited the Canyon, there were signs everywhere showing the most likely victims of

accidental death: young men ignoring edge barriers for a better photo or view or to show off.

[MicaelS]

3. What an awful way to die. n/t

[handmade34]

6. it is

but being a serious fan of hiking... I always tell my kids if I die while hiking, I will have died doing what I love

I was out at Rattlesnake Arches 2 days ago and the only other hikers out were here...




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[NutmegYankee]

18. I had that same thought while hiking the "Angels Landing" trail at Zion Canyon National Park.

I never did finish the trail - a Love of life and acrophobia convinced me to abort the hike halfway beyond Scout Outlook.

[On the Road]

27. Wow -- You are Braver Than Me

I freaked out halfway up Hua Shan and barely made halfway up. Old Chinese women were walking by laughing at me by this point. At one point on the trail there is a 12-15-foot almost vertical stretch where to go any further you have to climb using the same system of carved steps and chain.

[img][/img]

[Ex Lurker]

4. At an overlook I saw a German guy in bermuda shorts, black socks and sandals

nonchalantly climb over the rail and peer down into the depths, while singing, "Home, Home On Ze Range."

[handmade34]

5. sad

about 12 people die each year at the Canyon (having been there a few times... I am surprised it is not more)

[hollysmom]

10. well, more than that have jumped off the GW bridge to their death this year already, so

I guess that is an expected number.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. ...

[OnyxCollie]

9. And that is why I won't get anywhere near the edge.

I don't have a fear of heights; I have a (very rational) fear of falling.

[TeamPooka]

13. me too. nt

[a la izquierda]

15. I thought I was the only one. Ha! Nt

[Beacool]

11. This happens several times a year.

People ignore signs and railings. Lesson learned the hard way. May he rest in peace.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Well, I can't make any snarky comments, since I was similarly

kinda stupid on my long-ago visit to the GC. A bit too close to the edge, but luckily didn't lose my balance or footing (I didn't really grasp how "out there" I was until I heard some other tourists murmur and make comments behind me). Something about it draws the common sense right out of people--I remember thinking, wow, you can walk right up to the edge, no fences or guardrails! So I did, LOL.

[Lucky Luciano]

17. ...and then tgere are these types of maniacs...

[TwilightGardener]

21. Dear god.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. Dan Osman is dead. And he didn't die of old age.

[Lucky Luciano]

23. Indeed...but he didn't get carried out from climbing.

He liked the sensation of falling - he did some stunt with jumping off if cliffs with ropes attached...and there was a malfunction.

[freshwest]

44. Had a really nice neighbor used to do this. He was a sweet young man. n/t

[mainer]

16. Highly recommend "Death in the Grand Canyon"

Written by an ER doctor, analyzing all the known deaths that ever happened in the Grand Canyon, from drownings to heat stroke to plane/chopper crashes. Really fascinating book. Basically, he concludes that young male stupidity is responsible for a large share of the deaths.

Children almost never die falling off the rim. Unlike adults, they're smart enough to stay away from heights.

[Scout]

34. excellent book

i read it before my mule trip down to Phantom Ranch.

also that book was printed where my husband used to work, he's spoken with one of the authors several times, they are pretty neat guys.

[greatlaurel]

40. Very good book. Highly recommend it to anyone considering going to the Grand Canyon.

The one story that still sticks in my mind from that book was the little girl who fell while waiting to go on a mule ride. So very sad.

[alphafemale]

19. Picture of me at the Grand Canyon

[Dont call me Shirley]

26. Beautiful, alphafemale!

[alphafemale]

30. Ha!

I wasn't wearing knee socks.

That was the result of riding a bike around much of a couple of days and a generous dose of trail dust.

Mostly a weird tan from the bike though, I think.

[Dont call me Shirley]

32. Didn't even notice the dusty legs, was focusing on the pose of triumph and the smile and the

backdrop, that grand backdrop.

[Lars39]

29. First bounce! :-)

[alphafemale]

31. It was a wide ledge.

Trust me on that.

I can barely walk across a bridge.

lol.

[Lars39]

33. That's good!

I'd love to go back there, heights and all.

[greatlaurel]

20. A huge part of the problem is the National Parks are incredibly underfunded.

There is not enough staff and maintenance to keep the parks safe. People have to be told over and over again that something is dangerous. It is truly and shockingly easy to do stupid things in the National Parks that can get one killed very easily. These places are not playgrounds.

The Parks are starved for funds to pay staff and do incredibly needed maintenance. The GOP kills people in a lot of different ways.

[cbdo2007]

35. To risk sounding like a Repube...it isn't the Govt's job to keep people from doing stupid things

that gets them killed at the Grand Canyon. Even if we had the funding to cover the entire thing with Saran Wrap and hired 50,000 people to surround the whole thing holding hands, some fool is going to figure out a way to get themselves killed trying to get a better picture or horsing around.

RIP to the guy here who died and hopefully others will learn to stay away from the edge.

[greatlaurel]

36. I must very politely, but vehemently disagree with your premise.

The parks have been incredibly neglected and mismanaged since Reagan. The signage is aging, fencing crumbling, trails are very poorly marked. Rangers are hardly ever seen on the trails. Just having Park Rangers out on the trails and visible will keep people from doing really stupid things. If the parks had a reputation of penalizing people who go off the trails, people would not go off the trails nearly as much. It is the same idea why the highway patrol often just sit along roadways.

Of course, we cannot wrap the parks in saran wrap, I am not proposing that at all. Proper funding for maintenance and staffing would make a huge difference in keeping people safe from their own stupidity. Sometimes it is very easy to get oneself in a dangerous situation in these great and grand places. Proper staffing would really help in educating the public when they get to the parks to protect the parks from people and protect people from themselves.

I have to been to quite a few of the national parks and the deteriorating conditions at all of them is quite alarming and frustrating.

In my state, the GOP has slashed funding and staff to our state parks and preserves. Not surprisingly, the number of deaths at the parks skyrocketed. In the old days, when the parks were properly staffed, someone falling off the cliffs were unheard of. We do not need to have 50,000 people holding hands to prevent tragedies, just appropriate staffing and maintenance.

[former9thward]

37. I would not want to be in a park you had control of.

It would be the most boring place on earth. The GC is very safe.

[greatlaurel]

39. I am so sorry for you that you would rather make personal attacks than discuss GOP created problems.

The Grand Canyon National Park is pretty safe if one stays on the trails and follows the signs. Many people feel that staying on the trails and following rules make for a very boring experience. Unfortunately, not staying on trails and following the instructions and rules can lead one into some dangerous situations. The failure to have proper staffing allows folks to get themselves into some unpleasant situations more often. Every national park I have been to has been an amazing experience and I do try very hard to follow the rules and stay on the trails and that has not lessened my enjoyment in any way. I hope the parks are available for all future generations to enjoy these magnificent and unique places. Not one park service employee has ever been anything but incredibly helpful to me. They are amazing in how they are able to gently guide folks where they need to be, there just are not enough of them due to the massive budget slashing from the GOP.

The other unfortunate thing about folks not staying on the trails and following the rules is they damage the land, fauna and flora of the national parks and which degrades the parks for future generations. Seeing loads of plastic bottles and candy wrappers thrown into the hot springs at Yellowstone and the destruction of the desert flora at Canyonlands caused by fools who think the rules are boring and do not apply to them were very sad sights.

The failure to properly fund and maintain these fabulous national treasures shows a complete lack of concern for the future, which describes the GOP on every issue, not just the national parks.

Appreciate your perspective.

[former9thward]

41. The GOP is not in control of the GC.

And congress has not cut the parks budget. So try again.

[greatlaurel]

42. Last time I checked the GOP controls the House and Senate, so the GOP controlls the federal purse.

I think you may not understand the how the US Government is funded.

[former9thward]

45. So exactly how much did Obama ask for in GC funds?

And what did Congress give him? What was the funding in 2009 to 2011 when Democrats controlled Congress? Was the park being underfunded then? I have been to the GC many times. It is safe. Money has nothing to do with it.

[greatlaurel]

43. According to the NPCC, operations funding has been slashed by 7% and construction slashed by 62%

http://www.npca.org/protecting-our-parks/park-funding/park-funding.html

"The National Park Service, which has long struggled with underfunding, has been crippled by compounded budget cuts over recent years. This pattern threatens the long-term protection of our national treasures and the countless local economies that depend on American and international visitors having a safe and inspiring experience. The current Fiscal Year 2015 funding level for national parks is vastly insufficient to bring parks back to where they were, and where they need to be—especially in advance of the 2016 Centennial. There has been more than a 7%, or $173 million reduction in the account to operate national parks and more than a 12%, or $364 million reduction in the total budget for the National Park Service over the last five years in today’s dollars. Also, over the last decade, there has been a 62% or $227 million decline in today’s dollars in the park service construction account, directly contributing to the $11.5 billion deferred maintenance backlog."

Link to the NPCC fact sheet for the 2016 budget http://www.npca.org/assets/pdf/NPCA-park-funding-fact-sheet-3-11-14.pdf

[snooper2]

46. Um, we should leave the Grand Canyon as it is not build huge gates and fences everywhere LOL

[McKim]

24. Signs of The Times

I see a lack of caution and a reluctance to follow rules and follow laws that has been on an upswing since the Bush Administration.
In my day we were taught to respect nature and everyone knew by heart all the common sense rules of hiking safety. Also everyone
knew the rules of the road and mostly obeyed them. Today there is a general feeling that rules and laws are made for everyone else.
I am so sad for this man and his family. This is tragic. I am sad that people no longer respect rules and laws. It makes things a lot more dangerous. Selfish behavior is on the rise. I am getting old.

[Dont call me Shirley]

25. Juan...

I hiked that trail.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

28. I go up to The Canyon often as part of my job

This sort of stuff happens quite often during the year. A not inconsiderable percentage are probable suicides, according to the Parks people. But the major portion are Darwin Awards.

But when I hang my butt over the edge, I wear safety gear. I have no fear of heights whatsoever. But I do have a healthy respect for Gravity.😀

[csziggy]

38. When I visited, there was a man who climbed out on an outcrop

With a tripod and camera with a huge lens. Both my husband and I were a bit freaked out about where he decided to stand for his pictures. A few months later we saw a spread of photos of the Grand Canyon in the National Geographic. Comparing the pictures to ours we realized that the man we saw had to have been the NG photographer - the lighting, snow patches and clouds were the same!

That same morning my husband got one of the few photos of me for that trip. I was standing at one of the overlooks clutching the rail so tightly you can see my white knuckles. I hate heights and worried I would slip on the ice and skid under the railing. And having seen the photographer I was already freaked out about falling.

[Beauregard]

47. Just the headline gives me chills. nt