Trivia: #1 way to die in YNP wilderness?

[tuswm]

What is the number 1 way to die in YNP?

If you know dont give it away? No google either.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

I know on average the #1 cause of death across all National Parks is from falling, so that would be my guess in YNP as well. Not sure if they include car accidents or drug overdoses...

[brian039]

Heart attack?

[Buffalo Skipper]

How about Drowning?

[mweinstone]

bycicle accedent?

[mweinstone]

the story of the cowboy climber who put up the first cable on half dome is wacked. my all time fave. each summer he returnned with scraps of rope and stood on nails on his big toe. after storms and wars and ridicule, he succeded . his original ropes were used to afix the modern day cable.

[mweinstone]

lightning is the big danger in such places. after falling. right after not going.

[Feral Bill]

falling into hot springs, iirc.

[tuswm]

falling into hot springs, iirc.

closest yet

[mweinstone]

death by jacozzi?

[Many Walks]

Two guesses. It's either climbing the face of Half Dome where those people look like tiny specs up there. I'll never know why they do that. Or, it's hikers on the Misty Trail where the granite slabs are extremely slippery causing a tumble into the Merced River. I've heard of hikers taking that dive before. A lot of trails are rugged there, so it's easy to lose footing in several places. Last year one guy even fell from the back side of Half Dome where the cables are.

[BigToe]

Good trivia! I had to Google it because my guess was falling. The real answer is surprising. Thanks for the fun question.

[WingedMonkey]

Fromthe warnings I remember there, it's people swimming at the top of Yosemite Falls going over.

[tuswm]

Well not just that water fall.

When I lived there and first started backpacking I got the book death in yosemite


The most common cause of death is being swept over a water fall. People have slipped when crossing streams over a mile up stream of the water fall. Or swimming right above them..... The problems is that the streams are carving in to granite, polishing it over time. When polished granite is wet and has some algae on it there is less traction then on a greased Teflon coasted Ti pot. The sides are all sloped so you slide back in to the creek so you can not get out. You just keep sliding along until the current sweeps you over the edge. Many have been witnessed by many tourists, also many good Samaritans have tried to help and ended up going over themselves. My book was current as of 2005 and about 45 deaths just from going over water falls and about 1 out of 10 was some one trying to make a rescue.

[Feral Bill]

Wait now. Yosemite or Yellowstone?

[tuswm]

Sorry I guess I should have put Yosemite, I assumed everyone would know since it was under JMT. My bad. You know what they say about assume ing.

[Reid]

google, the all seeing eye.

[the goat]

i almost slid off a water fall in SNP one time. not cool at all.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

here are the stats I remembered seeing recently:

http://www.edarnell.com/2010.html

stats by park and overall are linked below the text.

[mikec]

That's an interesting link. A guy fell down a waterfall at Tukerman Ravine in the Whites and died the day I got rescued in July, 2010. I ran out of water and was severely dehydrated the first day out on a section hike between Pinkham and Madison. They had to send two guys out from the hut to give me water and walk me in. I heard it on their two way radios while they were walking me to the hut. Very scary as I could have been #2 that day.