Yellowstone tourist ignores warning signs, walks off boardwalk, dies in hot spring

[Ex Lurker]

and I have zero sympathy, except for the park rangers who will have to put themselves at risk trying to recover his body. Too bad there wasn't a gorilla to blame.

http://buckrail.com/189908353189675008/a-yellowstone-national-park-visitor-presumed-dead-after-falling-into-hot-spring

Yellowstone) - A person is believed to be dead after a witness saw him fall into a hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.
According to a Yellowstone National Parks Service news release sent out at 6:30 p.m. this evening, here is what we know at this time:

A witness reported that a man in his early 20's walked off the boardwalk and fell into a hot spring.
At this time, rangers are treating this incident as a probable fatality because the victim has not been located.
Rangers are using extreme caution as they respond given the hazards of the thermal area.
The location of the incident is approximately 225 yards off the boardwalk.
The Norris Geyser Basin is currently closed.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information will be available this evening.

Yellowstone National Park will provide information as it is available tomorrow. For more information on safety around thermal features, refer to go.nps.gov/yellsafety.

[Logical]

1. You sound like a uncaring asshole IMO. someone died. Nt

[Hortensis]

15. It is a tragedy. Adolescence is a dangerous age,

seemingly more so for the young men.

[a la izquierda]

19. Men in their early 20s are adolescents? Nt

[Hortensis]

22. Oh, yes. Still years away from mature brain development.

[a la izquierda]

24. Then it's great that we give them guns and

send them to war.

[Matt_in_STL]

26. Well, nobody said they weren't expendable for the corporate war machine.

Just not mature enough to know better.

[Hortensis]

31. Yup. Note that "we" has always been their

own fathers, and now mothers, who don't want to interrupt their incomes, careers, etc., to serve themselves. I often thought of that when we were sending 18-year-olds to Vietnam and 40-year-olds into space.

On the more defendable side, far fewer die or are badly injured in wars these days and it's mostly seen as a way to gain all kinds of benefits while getting to "serve." Lots of worried parents are happy to have the military finish raising and schooling their rackety adolescents.

[braddy]

110. The young men are best suited for the rigors of war, not many 50 year olds are able to handle

the physical demands of combat units.

That is why so many of us veterans were turned away when we tried to reenlist after 9/11.

[Hortensis]

113. Sure, it undoubtedly was a reason, but

those 40-50-year-olds who can should be on the line. Maturity has its benefits too.

As for the rest of us, we can be drafted into support roles. I support supplying personnel for all wars and engagements through a draft. Every citizen who is able-minded and sufficiently able-bodied enough to be an asset would be required to serve, including senators' children, and while we're at it, why not the senators too unless they get special, public exemptions?

This might sound like pie in the sky, but is it really impossible that sufficient numbers in the right situation might vote it into being? We should all have equal stake and equal hazards in going to war, and these days the chances of being drawn would be low. If raising the average age substantially also ultimately cost more, both in base pay and medical costs, that'd be too bad. It'd be our tab and it would help make sure it was our choice to run it up too.

“If you can't afford to take care of your veterans, then don't go to war.”
~ Sen. Bernie Sanders

[braddy]

116. Nonsense, if you want to serve, then apply when you are young and fit enough to possibly qualify.

As it is, the military is already having enough problems with out of shape young men.

[Hortensis]

117. Older people would come in with valuable skills

that take far longer than boot camp to develop, plus the habit of getting up and going to work and coming home and working some more. They wouldn't require so much babysitting, and things like schizophrenia and a propensity to criminal behaviors would be a lot more likely to have already shown up. And, as you say, physical conditioning is an issue that is addressed before sending people off to work in offices, kitchens, and warehouses anyway. But let's not argue. I'm at a big disadvantage against someone who's actually served.

[braddy]

119. You really don't understand the military and it's needs and demands, not to mention why they would

want to take on old men just in time to start issuing them all disability discharges and pensions, at least the ones who don't drop over with heart attacks.


All GIs have the habit of getting up and going to work and going days without sleep, in the military, sleeping late, or getting a sunburn over the weekend that makes you unable to work on Monday, means that you will be charged with a crime.

Here is a military warehouse job, each one of those shells weighs about 93 pounds, and the warehouse people live outside in the rain and snow, or the desert.
[IMG][/IMG]

[Lancero]

174. That pic is older then your comment implies.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/d-day-dinner-startling-unearthed-wwii-683134

[braddy]

175. What do you mean? That is the source that I got my picture from, it is just a mild example of why

strength, youth, and vigor, are needed even in support units, the times don't change such needs for the military.

Did you really not instantly recognize WWII uniforms?

By the way, the weight of those 155 shells doesn't change much either, whether in WWII or today, nor the weight of 5 gallon gas cans or truck tires, or commercial sized soup pots, or carrying your buddies. There is a reason that the military needs young men, and not 50 and 60 year olds, not to mention pulling them out of the work force.

[tabasco]

150. Why did you put serve in quotation marks?

Do you think the military is some kind of easy shit where you just put in your time and then get a bunch of benefits?

Or do you question the value of the military and what it does to the nation as a whole?

I'm perplexed.

[Hortensis]

158. Tabasco, because for some it's far more self serve

than serve. What enlisting can do for young people is wonderful, but I don't care to pretend there is something especially noble about working for skills training or travel, or avoiding going to work for dad or facing the dread task of breaking up with a girlfriend, while never facing the real possibility of going into danger or even performing special services with high ideals. It belittles the contributions and sacrifices of those who truly serve their nation.

It also perpetuates a lot of other glorification that imo we should not allow. If we train our kids to be killers and use them up as cannon fodder, there needs to be really good reason, no need for snow jobs. I can see recruiters using it. I just don't.

Btw, the godfather to one of our grandsons was a career combat soldier for decades and was just short of promotion to sergeant major when he died last year from to an unhealable wound infection courtesy of a sloppy military surgeon. He never got to retire and is now buried at one of the national cemeteries in Florida. He served.

[tabasco]

167. Yes, but all military members, even cooks and clerks, are serving their country.

If they derive benefits from that, it's okay with me. Just seven percent of U.S. citizens have served time in the military. If it was such a sweet deal, it would be a higher percentage.

I'm an infantry combat vet. Two combat tours. People who never leave the USA serve their country. People in the Peace Corps are serving their country, as well. Aside from paying taxes, what have you done for your country?

[Hortensis]

168. Fwiw, you served by my definition. And exactly that there

are many ways to serve one's nation, but the kicker is that for me to call it service I want a serving of a genuine goal that benefits the nation, not only oneself or war industry profit margins.

That said, I don't think I'd tell a forklift operator laboring through Persian Gulf summers to help protect Saudi Aramco oil wells that I considered that just a job because he really signed up as a "respectable" way to abandon his wife and kids and resume his bachelor life. He might be seeing himself as quite noble in his suffering and not take it well.

I'm going to stop babbling over this. I'm just allergic to the patriotic Kool-Aid so many serve up to our kids and won't touch that pitcher, or enable the kind of romantic self-delusion that can land a clueless kid who just wanted help becoming a man in a grave instead. I want them to sign up with their eyes wide open.

[tabasco]

169. We agree on the big stuff.

I want the "defense" budget cut in half and an end to most of our overseas entanglements. We are being robbed blind by war profiteers and gutless corrupt politicians. I was one of the voices crying in the wilderness when the evil Bush cabal lied us into Iraq.

I hated rear echelon soldiers when I was in the infantry. That's part of being infantry. But I won't be a dick and say they don't serve the nation. If the crap hits the fan, every soldier, airman, sailor marine can find themselves in harm's way.

[Hortensis]

179. We definitely agree, sounds like probably

on almost everything.

I don't know if you remember, but after Bush's announcement that we were going to war, retired top-level people from military, intelligence, foreign affairs, presidents, you name it, started speaking up and saying it was a very bad idea. Every week or two another big name stepping up. General Schwarzkopf was among the first. Even Bush's father spoke to private groups to get on the record. The lies about WMD were also exposed, of course, long before we landed soldiers. Other extremely questionable things were revealed. Yet by and large people did nothing.

Which brings us back to my original notion that going to war should affect everyone personally, however we manage it.

Your comment about hating "real echelon soldiers" made me smile. Of course. Our son did electronics on an aircraft carrier in the first gulf war. We were so glad. Your parents served too.

[Fumesucker]

52. That's *why* we give them guns and send them off to war

Far easier to get the young to get stupid risky shit just because someone else tells them to.

Yeah, they tend to be healthier and more athletic young, heal easier and so on but the primary reason for using the young in war is mental malleability.

[Igel]

60. We let them make all sorts of decisions.

Driving, drinking, smoking, voting. We even let them volunteer for dangerous things like the military or marriage, and have them choose their own careers. Or let them drop out of school or college.

Heck, we let some as young as 14 or 13 make really serious, life-changing decisions.

[GulfCoast66]

78. Exactly

Why they are the one's we send

[Coventina]

69. By that logic, everything said about Brock Turner on DU is grossly unfair.

How could he possibly know that raping someone was wrong, when a man of similar age can't be held responsible for leaving a clearly marked path, complete with warning signs, into an extremely dangerous environment?

[aikoaiko]

77. Not so much more after 20.

[Hortensis]

80. Yes. They're a good way to adulthood, but

physical and psychological adulthood and legal adulthood are not the same. Specifically in this case, executive decisionmaking areas of the brain, including impulse control, are among the last functions to mature, usually somewhere in the mid 20s.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

127. According to Dubya, anything you do before 40 is a "youthful indiscretion"

[tk2kewl]

29. natural selection

[FrodosPet]

76. Imagine a world without developmentally disabled people

Why should our hard earned dollars be spent on mental inferiors, like DD, Down's Syndrome, Autistic, etc. amiright?

Oh brother!

I don't know if this was a normally capable person being arrogant and reckless, or someone with mental handicaps. Regardless, this is loathsome the way some here are joking and almost gloating about someone suffering and dying.

It's hideous and embarrassing.

[cleanhippie]

183. "I don't know if this was a normally capable person being arrogant and reckless..."

I don't know if this was a normally capable person being arrogant and reckless, or someone with mental handicaps.

That's right, you don't know at all. Yet that didn't stop you from berating someone for doing something they didn't do at all, acting like they did, when you don't even know the facts to begin with.

[hobbit709]

32. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime. Sentence is carried out with no hope of appeal.

Flouting physical laws usually gets you one result and it ain't pretty.
The universe doesn't care if you argue with it.

[Logical]

34. Add yourself to the list

[hobbit709]

39. I'm still alive at 65.

I've seen way too many people die. Arguing with Sir Isaac is one I've seen more than once.
I don't take selfies with rattlesnakes. I don't swim in water with crocodiles. and I certainly won't go near a boiling hot spring.

[Logical]

43. Well, that explains why death is funny to you. Wow, so many jerks on a dem site. Nt

[Orrex]

45. In case that gets hidden

Well, that explains why death is funny to you. Wow, so many jerks on a dem site. Nt

+10,000

[hobbit709]

46. I don't think death is funny. I've looked death in the eyes more than once.

But I save my sympathy for those who suffer through no fault of their own.

[Logical]

47. Like I said, I now know all about you I need to know. Nt

[hobbit709]

49. And right back at you.

do you get nosebleeds at that altitude on your moral high horse?

[Logical]

50. No, just a decent human being horse.

[jberryhill]

106. Have they confirmed the visitor was not visually impaired?

[still_one]

79. It is an awful thing, and I fear the victim may have suffered terribly

[ManiacJoe]

177. There is no question about that.

He boiled to death.
The heat and acidity of the water then dissolved most (all?) of the body.

[Person 2713]

2. Picture of boardwalks at link

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/safety.htm

[kentauros]

6. Those railings seem to be too low for good safety.

For many of the men pictured, the railings are below their waists. They're fine for short people, but not taller people. The waist is about the center of gravity. All it would take is to stumble or be jostled by someone else, and you could end up over that rail.

I see plenty of people sitting on top of the railing, which is another safety no-no.

Most parks I've ever visited have railings that are not only higher than my waist, but also have a 2x6 or 2x8 attached flat on the top. That allows people to rest their arms and elbows, especially when they're trying to steady their cameras or binoculars. Seems like they need to do the same thing at this park...

[Kentonio]

7. It's a natural preserve, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect people to be careful.

There's castles in France where you can walk along the tops of 40ft ancient walls with no barriers of any kind, because the expectation is that people will use some common sense. It results in a population who don't tend to die in silly accidents, because they're brought up to be sensible and look out for their own safety rather than relying on someone else to do it for them. I think it's a better approach.

[kentauros]

9. France is not here.

Here we have the likes of OSHA and other safety-conscious entities, and for good reason. As I stated, most of the parks I have visited have taller railings.

You seem to be in the "Darwin Award" camp and that's unfortunate. Because accidents also happen to people even when they are being careful and sensible. And what about someone getting killed because of someone else not being sensible? Is that still a good outcome for the population by your reckoning?

Shorter railings make it much easier for standard physics to cause accidents. We're talking center of gravity here, not a lack of sensibility.

[Kentonio]

10. If you put a barrier around everything..

Then people stop thinking they have any responsibility for their own safety, which results in more accidents not less. Yes sometimes accidents happen anyway, and unfortunately that's just life. It doesn't mean the person the accident happened to is necessarily at fault, sometimes bad things just happen.

[kentauros]

11. I guess you're not reading (or comprehending) what I wrote.

The railings at that monument are too low. A tall person's center of gravity is higher than the top of the railing. The railings are obviously necessary or they would not have installed them. What they need to do is raise them by about eight inches and they'd be fine. Only basketball players would still be too tall, and they likely don't make up a majority of the populace that visits that park.

Most parks prefer that their visitors be safe, and will do things to keep them safer, including having railings that don't help to cause the accidents, as they will when they are too low. Yes, they know accidents happen. However, unlike your point of view, they want there to be no accidents, and will do whatever they need to be able to assure visitors that they need not worry about accidentally stumbling over a railing that's too low.

Honestly, I've never heard of anyone saying that barriers cause more accidents than they prevent. Therefore, I require some kind of scientific evidence to back that up before I decide whether to continue with this pointless argument or not.

[Red Mountain]

13. I think there's a trade off between safety and enjoying the natural experience

A slightly lower railing enhances the experience. Anyway, since the incident happened 225 yards off the boardwalk I don't think railing height was the issue. It sounds like the missing person deliberately left the boardwalk.

[kentauros]

20. Yes, you're right about the picture not representing the story.

In my opinion, my concern remains. Those railings are too low, and can become a hazard. A slightly higher railing would not adversely affect the viewing experience.

[Kentonio]

14. The very existence of a barrier should illustrate that there is a danger to be avoided.

The idea that because its not a 100% foolproof barrier that it is therefore helping to cause accidents is just another sign of people expecting other people to take care of their safety for them. "Accidentally stumbling over a railing that's too low"? Christ, its a surprise that people manage to walk down the street these days without hurting themselves.

[kentauros]

21. And it's no surprise to me that you're not the only poster to this thread

who doesn't seem to have a problem with people dying while visiting a park, when their death could have been easily prevented without impinging on the other visitors' positive experience. They certainly don't have a positive experience now!

[Kentonio]

54. So now you've decided without any evidence that the low barriers were the reason for him falling in?

As for having a problem with it, that's a really weird (and quite insulting) way to put it. I'm deeply sorry that this man died, and that his family must be suffering terribly right now, but I have real issues with the idea that the way you make the world safer is to try and put a fence around it.

People learn about safety by being taught how to behave in dangerous situations. If people think they should always just be safe and that it is someone elses responsibility to keep them safe, then they end up not knowing how to look after themselves properly.

[kentauros]

68. Please, *re-read* my original comment.

I was never commenting on the person who walked off of the boardwalk. I was commenting on the image at the link.

Here's the link to my original post as it seems far too many people answering me have neither read nor can they find it.

I never got the impression from your original comment to me that you had any kind of empathy for the man or anyone else. Your wording sounds more like how some people push the concept of the *Darwin Award* on the rest of us with at least some empathy to our fellow human beings. If that was not your intent, then I apologize.

My suggestion of raising that existing fence eight inches is hardly "putting a fence around it." The fence is already there. It just needs to be improved.

[Igel]

64. He walked off.

That's the current state of the knowledge. He fell only after doing something that involved choice. He took a risk; he lost. The Boltzmann distribution for KE of substances in contact will not be denied; it's Newton writ small. You can't cheat conservation laws. (Well, you can, but only briefly and at the quantum level.)

In the attempt to avoid blaming the ever-innocent victim, we sometimes forget that the victim self-victimizes and really does merit the blame.

[msanthrope]

81. I want to buy this post a drink. nt

[flying rabbit]

172. 225 Yards off the boardwalk

More than two football fields. I suspect higher railings wouldn't have made a difference. Yes, perhaps the victim does deserve the blame.

[snooper2]

63. This idiot left the boardwalk so doesn't matter how high the railings are, he didn't "topple over"

So you are arguing a moot point...

[kentauros]

67. I'm arguing the point of the image at the link.

Which shows railings that are too low. Have a look.

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

88. Your "argument" isn't so much "moot" . . .

. . . as it is utterly irrelevant to the situation at hand. I've been to Norris Geyser Basin. Along almost all of the boardwalk, there is no railing whatsoever.

So, unless you are suggesting that railings should be added to the hundreds and hundreds of yards of boardwalk that lack them, it's pretty pointless to quibble about whether a given stretch of railing is "too low," isn't it?

[dbackjon]

96. No they are not. You are wrong. You are the only one that thinks this

I don't want a tall railing when I visit a national park.


If you do, fine, just stay in your house and leave nature to the adults.

[kentauros]

98. Y'all are getting so worked up over this.

Did you read the part where my suggestion was a mere eight inches? That's all that particular fence needs, with a 2x6 or 2x8 nailed flat over the top. Something for people to rest their elbows and arms on while they take pictures or use binoculars.

Did you also read the part where I said the human center of gravity is about waist-level? Most of the men on that particular railing-lined walkway are tall enough that their waists are higher than the railing. Thus, my suggestion that they extend the height by eight inches.

Is eight inches really going to ruin your viewing experience? Maybe I'm not the one who should not leave home and never visit the parks I also mentioned visiting...

[dbackjon]

121. Most of the Boardwalks have ZERO Railings

See video
http://www.kbzk.com/story/32178537/raw-video-6-people-walking-across-hot-spring-in-yellowstone-national-park?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KBZK_TV


To sanitize the park like you want would cost millions

[HuckleB]

125. And there are no boardwalks in the backcountry where there are plenty more hot springs.

Are we going to put up six foot steel fences along every hiking trail that abuts a steep edge?

[KT2000]

87. No - close the area off and

provide an auditorium so people can view a video of the hot springs. People are truly becoming too ignorant and disrespectful of the rules to stay safe. Let Disneyland take over the vacation destination business.

While we are at it let's close Olympic National park because people can slip on the trails provided and fall to their death. We actually had a person sue because a wild goat during rutting season killed a hiker. It was thrown out though.

This story is not about someone falling over they edge - they walked off the boardwalk.

[dbackjon]

95. He stepped over the railing. Had ZERO to do with the railing height. This wasn't an accident

He went 250+ feet off the boardwalk.


The barriers are perfect for the environment. If you want a perfectly safe environment, don't leave home.

[cleanhippie]

184. It appears the person intentionally climbed over the railings, they didn't fall.

And with the millions of visitors per year that walk that very same spot without falling over the rail, your argument is pointless.

[RobinA]

41. Walking Off

the boardwalks at Yellowstone is a choice.

[EX500rider]

89. I just got back from Ft Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas..one of my fav. parts was the no safety rails.

If I wanted a bubble wrap vacation I could have gone to Orlando.

[Drahthaardogs]

18. They look to be three feet tall with a top rail, toe board, and mid rail

which would be OSHA compliant.

[kentauros]

23. And yet, OSHA requires one to be tied off

if you are four feet off the ground. Therefore, the people sitting on it should be tied off, to be OSHA compliant.

OSHA doesn't have any issues with people or entities being safer than their rules suggest.

[Drahthaardogs]

56. OSHA really does not apply here

My point was the railing is probably sufficient

[GulfCoast66]

82. Not behind a rail

If there is a rail you do not need tying off. If one if my employees were sitting on a safety rail installed to prevent a fall hazard, it would result in termination.

But you cannot fire someone from a park.

At least there is a rail which is not required in a national park. You might read the book 'Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon'. It is eye opening. As our normal environment has been made safer, places like National Parks get more Dangerous. People forget that at dangerous locations no one can protect you from yourself. And they sometimes make unwise decisions.

Have a nice afternoon.

[we can do it]

170. It's not a workplace.

[RobinA]

44. Does OSHA

even apply here? Isn't OSHA about occupational safety?

[rjsquirrel]

51. Correct

OSHA has zero to do with national park fencing.

The idea that the world can be made safe from stupidity is funny. Sad the guy got boiled to death but it doesn't happen often and it's really not NPS's job to make nature perfectly safe for idiots.

[hatrack]

55. Beyond that, get off the main drag, and boardwalk-free thermal features abound

There will be warning signs and established paths in the backcountry, but that's about it.

It's a national park, and it's operated on the principle that most visitors are going to have some situational awareness, and appreciate the risks.

It's Yellowstone, not the Happy Kidz Funn Zone Safe Wilderness Experience.

[Drahthaardogs]

57. No.

It does not. The point was the railing is pretty standard

[hobbit709]

33. 275 yards is a bit more than falling over a railing.

[Blue_Tires]

92. FWIW, Yellowstone makes everyone well aware

Last edited Wed Jun 8, 2016, 05:37 PM - Edit history (1)

of the many things in that park that can result in instant/painful death...

And given that the victim was 225(!) yards off the trail, I don't think a railing would have made any difference...

http://www.yellowstonepark.com/unnatural-deaths-yellowstone-national-park-avoid/

[BlueMTexpat]

115. Excellent points all.

There is some point at which people MUST use common sense.

There must either be a LOT more visitors in Yellowstone this year or many of them must have the brain wave activity of Donald Trump supporters. I cannot recall a time in recent memory when I have heard about so many stupid acts in Yellowstone, especially this early in the season. And yes, every single one has been abysmally stupid.

Nature in the raw is not tame in any respect. People may have gotten a different idea from wildlife documentaries, without realizing that many, if not most, of these are years in the making and involve wildlife and natural experts along with a whole crew of other experts. They are not hot-shots hoping for great selfies.

There are rules to follow when visiting a national park and they are posted everywhere. Only fools do not abide by them. Anyone who doesn't - yet lives to tell the tale - should be banned from the parks for life, IMO.

[TransitJohn]

139. Dude fell into the spring 225 yards from the walkway.

Railings aren't the issue.

[kentauros]

142. Neither is reading comprehension, it seems...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7889940

[TransitJohn]

156. That's a pretty rude comment. eom

n/t

[kentauros]

157. Yes it is.

Because I'm getting tired of trying to get every single detractor to my comments to actually read them!

[Scootaloo]

176. He actually makes a good point, Kent

'Cause, falling over a railing isn't going to slingshot you more than two football field's distance away from the point where you fell.

The guy was wandering off the designated path, and something bad probably happened to him. He didn't "deserve" it like some jerkasses here are claiming - no one deserves that kind of end. But it looks like the reality is that he put himself at risk, and paid a cost for it.

[kentauros]

180. Yes, he makes a good point.

[font color="blue"]IF[/font] I had been commenting on the story. I was commenting (as I have stated several times now) on the photo at the link provided by the person to whom I was initially responding. Thus, my comment about reading comprehension.

[Act_of_Reparation]

152. How about no.

This is Preikestolen. It's a sheer granite cliff about 2,000 feet high, and a rather popular tourist attraction. See a guard rail anywhere?



Ultimately, the Norwegians sided against a railing, feeling it would detract from the natural beauty of the place. This might be an extreme example, but I really have to wonder how far out of our way we should go to make places like Yellowstone or Yosemite idiot-proof. The more safety features we add, the uglier these places get.

[kentauros]

154. Please *****READ***** what I have written here.

Do not add to it. Do not re-interpret it. I meant what I wrote, and I wrote it exactly the way I wanted it to read. Period.

[Act_of_Reparation]

159. Maybe you're not a very good writer, Ken.

Because, to me, this reads like you are suggesting Yellowstone's safety features aren't up to snuff:

Most parks I've ever visited have railings that are not only higher than my waist, but also have a 2x6 or 2x8 attached flat on the top. That allows people to rest their arms and elbows, especially when they're trying to steady their cameras or binoculars. Seems like they need to do the same thing at this park...

To me, it reads like you think the park needs a more obtrusive network of pipes and planks because reasons I don't find particularly compelling.

[kentauros]

160. My comment was *only ever* on the image at the link.

My original comment was directly to the person above me who had given a link to the story, with an image.

My original comment was a suggestion on that particular boardwalk with railings, and yes, obviously, my suggestion was that their safety wasn't nearly as good as it could be. As I wrote.

That was the only image where railings were in existence. Seems to me that a lot of readers of my comments also like to add to what I have said, to make me say things I did not, and a weird insistence on reading between the lines.

I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. Period.


By the way, "kentauros" is one word. It's from the etymology of the word "centaur" and my actual name is nowhere to be found in its spelling, Rep. Is it okay if I call you Rep? No? Okay.

[Blue_Tires]

166. Actually, *THIS* is the place where he wandered off

Does anyone really need a sign to tell them to stay the hell back?

[cleanhippie]

185. Total non-sequiteur.

[Orrex]

17. I don't see any warning signs in that picture

I wonder which signs he ignored, exactly, that inspired the OP to have no sympathy for him.

[liberal N proud]

27. Having been to Yellowstone many times, trust me, there are warning signs

Warning signs at the beginning of the boardwalks.
Warning signs incrementally along the boardwalk
Warning signs at most of the park facilities
Warnings in the literature handed out as you enter the park.

Same as with the wildlife in the park, its there to see, not to touch.

The tragedy is the damage done to the natural features, geysers and hot springs are very fragile, which is also on signs all over the park.

[Orrex]

28. I don't doubt that they're there in abundance

I was taking snarky issue with the OP's proudly declared lack of sympathy, rather than the picture that you offered.


You're right about the damage done to natural features--that is also a tragedy indeed.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

130. In 1958, when I visited, the boardwalks didn't have rails.

It just seemed logical to me, as a 9-year-old boy, that approaching things that were bubbling and steaming hot didn't make sense.

That said, I feel sorry for the young man, his family, and the rangers who have to retrieve his body from the spring.

[liberal N proud]

134. Many still don't so that wildlife can cross them

Many boardwalks are still one - two feet off the ground and have no rails. All boardwalks through the Thermal Features have plenty of warning on them though.

[HuckleB]

109. There are warning signs everywhere.

You would have to ignore a lot to think it was ok to walk out there.

[annabanana]

30. here

It looks high enough to me. It takes a deliberate effort to get over the rail and jump down into the springs..

[RobinA]

48. That's Not

Norris Geyser Basin. Incidentally, my favorite part of the park.

[Botany]

58. From your link .... thanx

"Stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas: hot springs have injured or killed more people
in Yellowstone than any other natural feature. Keep your children close and make sure they
understand the danger posed by boiling water."

[DesertRat]

3. Omg, how horrible!

We went to YNP last Sept. and it was magnificent. There are many signs and warnings about the dangers of the hot springs.
My heart goes out to the young man and his loved ones.

[TipTok]

4. A textbook example of Darwinism...

[Logical]

37. And of assholes laughing about it. Nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Yikes. Terrible.

Someone's family is going to have their world torn to shreds.



"Stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas: hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature. Keep your children close and make sure they understand the danger posed by boiling water."

[Quantess]

8. Natural selection. (no text)

[Dorian Gray]

12. Why?

Why do you have zero sympathy?

[kentauros]

25. Because some DUers love to show the world

that their Empathy Quotient is abysmally low, often through the posting of Darwin Awards.

[Dorian Gray]

73. I know...

God forbid someone has sympathy for someone who had an accident.

Or even, worse, someone who was so depressed he or she purposefully ended his or her life.

[Mendocino]

164. I would strongly doubt that

someone would attempt to end their life by falling into a boiling hot spring. Not too many people would prolong their agony by prolonging their agony.

[Orrex]

16. Nothing in the article asserts that he ignored warning signs

It is entirely possible that he didn't see them, for instance. Since we know nothing about him, it's also possible that he was unable to read them. Since we know nothing about the larger story, maybe he was trying to rescue someone's dog that got loose, or a wandering child?

For that matter, since we know nothing about him, perhaps he was mentally impaired. Would it still be a funny story in that case? What if he were suicidal or mentally ill?


Odd that you find it most important to tell us how much smarter you are than the victim.

Stay classy.

[ecstatic]

35. +1. nt

[dbackjon]

97. The only way to not see them is to be blindfolded. You can't get on the trail without

Seeing multiple signs.

Maybe he saw a UFO.

If he was mentally ill, a sign, or higher railing would have done nothing. If he was chasing a child, that would have been known. If it was a dog, sorry, you still don't go off the boardwalk.



And yes, I am smart enough to stay away from a pool of boiling water.

[Orrex]

99. But my point...

is that it's rather sick to mock a death simply for poor judgment, especially when we don't know the circumstances that led to it.

The OP seems to rejoice in withholding sympathy, as if callous self-superiority is a trait to admire.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

126. Plus who deserves death for disobeying a sign?

I don't understand the lack of empathy

[Orrex]

128. Thank you.

Apparently some around here think that he was asking for it, so the least we can do is mock him for it.

[cleanhippie]

186. Oh FFS.

The manufactured outrage on this thread is hilarious.

[Orrex]

187. Outrage? Hardly.

Of course, that's a favorite go-to for people who want to scold, so have at it.

After that, since you've identified yourself as an authority, please present a comprehensive list of topics on which we're permitted to express disagreement. DU and the world at large will be much better off under your wise tutelage.

[Odin2005]

36. Darwin Award!

[Logical]

38. Uncaring jerk award, someone died, glad you find it funny

[Odin2005]

40. While you get the sanctimonious jerk award?

[Logical]

42. Ill gladly take it, i bet you are a class act, wish i knew the details. Lol. Nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

101. Sad, and not funny.

[backscatter712]

53. Boiled long pork anyone? n/t

[GOLGO 13]

59. How dare you! I'm VEEGAAANNN!

[backscatter712]

62. I suppose you'll have to stick to the side dishes...

...Fava beans and a nice chianti...

[GOLGO 13]

65. "Keep the glass & leave me the bottle.

"I'm on the highway to hell at full-throttle"

Bring the vino & I'll bring some crispy duck.

[Coventina]

61. I went to Yellowstone as a 9 year old child and knew better than to leave the boardwalk.

Signs are EVERYWHERE that the area is incredibly dangerous.

Why somebody would do such a thing is completely beyond me.

I feel horrible for his family.

[RobinA]

71. When I Was

in Yellowstone back in the '70's, we saw this couple walk up and look in Old Faithful. Old Faithful has a lot more railing now than it did then, and there are a lot more signs, but even then it was hard to miss the fact that you were being warned that walking in thermal areas was not the best idea.

There were also the usual people who wanted to photograph wild animals close up.

[Invincibility]

66. Sad

Unfortunately, nature doesn't care if you're just an immature young adult. Break the rules and the penalty is death or severe injury.

[MH1]

70. "A witness reported ... " - not much other info.

A witness reported.

Do we know that the report is even accurate?

It doesn't seem as if anything is known about the man who is presumed to have died. Maybe he didn't understand English or any other languages that the warnings are printed in. (As an English speaker and haven't been to YP in a few years, I don't recall, but I'm guessing that warnings were posted in at least Spanish as well as English.) Maybe he was mentally ill or retarded? But if this person should have been under the care of a guardian, then he shouldn't have been wandering around YP alone.

Yellowstone National Park is incredibly beautiful. It is also dangerous for people who don't understand the situation and behave appropriately. Incidents like this are terribly sad, but I would not like to see further attempts to stupid-proof nature.

[RobinA]

72. People

who don't understand the ramifications of walking up to a steaming sinkhole shouldn't be in Yellowstone.

[jberryhill]

107. Ah, yes, but

If the young man suffered from a mental, physical or emotional impairment of some kind, and his companion(s) had a momentary lapse of attention, then as we all learned from the gorilla episode, then the moral scolds must be satisfied, and their gods require sacrifice to enhance their personal superiority over all mortals.

[flying rabbit]

173. Ramen.

[csziggy]

146. He was from Oregon. His sister witnessed the event.

A man visiting Yellowstone National Park was killed after he stepped off a designated boardwalk, slipped and fell into a hot spring.

Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, Oregon, was with his sister when he fell in near the Noris Basin Geyser on Tuesday, officials said.

His body has not yet been recovered. Authorities were proceeding with caution because of the heat around the springs.
More with video of the geyser: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/07/travel/yellowstone-geyser-man-falls-trnd/index.html

[NaturalHigh]

74. Dang, what a horrible way to go.

[sorefeet]

75. It's been on the local news here

they haven't found the body yet. This is one of the hottest pots in the park, so recovery would be difficult. At around 200 degrees it's going to be bad.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

83. A sacrifice to the Caldera Gods. Now we are good for another 12,000 years

I've been to jellystone many times. Their warnings are everywhere and serious.

I hope they don't overreact and screw up nature for the rest of us.

[GulfCoast66]

84. Jelly stone?? Really!!

Did you get to meet yogi?

Could not help myself...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

85. BooBoo yes, yogi, no.

[GulfCoast66]

86. Please tell me

You had a pic-a-nic!!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

100. Actually, the last time, I rode up to the park on horseback,

After spending time there, rode back to the camp our guide set up, and ate over campfire.

[GulfCoast66]

103. Green.with.envy

Have never been. Hope to some day

Is there good trout fishing?

[linuxman]

90. So an adult...

Ignores the warnings which are everywhere, gets off the boardwalk, walks 2 and a quarter football fields away from safety, manages to fall through/into a hot spring, then dies.


I've always been an advocate of right to die. Sounds like he got what he wanted. Be happy for him.

[Blue_Tires]

91. Reminds me of the Yosemite waterfall deaths, sadly

a little common sense and all those folks would be alive today...

[backscatter712]

94. Between the hot-springs deaths, the waterfall deaths, and being stupid around wild animals...

...especially bison, elk, moose, and bears, it's amazing that park rangers and volunteers don't completely short-circuit due to the epidemic of stupid.

[Blue_Tires]

104. +1

And god help the committee tasked with trying to make things safer and idiot-proofing as much as the budget will allow...

[moriah]

93. Be VERY cautious around any thermal spring.

There are still unmarked springs on BLM land that are close to boiling, and they don't look that hot.

Even a known spring could fluctuate in temperature, so just because you swam in it a few years ago and it was pleasantly toasty, it might be too hot the next time you visit. Unless it's been designated for swimming, stay out of springs on government land.

Most Arkansas "hot" springs aren't at dangerous temperature levels, but many in the West are.

[leftyladyfrommo]

112. Didn't someone die in a spring

Not too long ago. It was one that people had been able to get into and then the water got a lot hotter and people didn't realize it.

[moriah]

132. I'm not sure on that, but here's a borderline spring that killed a bather:

http://www.hotwaterslaughter.com/hotspring/mickey-hot-springs

117 degrees wasn't enough to cause burns, but did contribute to a heart attack.

Lots of people have died because they didn't have their dogs leashed well enough and they jumped in near-boiling springs, though... I presume at least they weren't leashed, because the owners jumped in to rescue them instead of hauling them out.

[leftyladyfrommo]

144. I remember that happened in Yellowstone.

Someone jumped on after his dog.

[doc03]

102. I was there 3 years ago. I saw one Chinese tourist walk right over to Old Faithful and take a

picture of the opening. They are going to have to put a fence up for those morons. The same goes for the bison I saw people walking right up to them like they were cattle.

[leftyladyfrommo]

114. I saw people walking right up to elk. NT

[doc03]

123. They think wild animals are like pets. The Chinese tourists I saw

were the rudest people I ever saw in my life. I was on a tour bus a couple times we stopped for a photo op and they stopped at the same time. They would push in front of you like you didn't even exist. I was expecting to see one of them killed by a bison or elk, they thought they were tame animals. I guess that comes from living in such a crowded country,

[LonePirate]

105. Was the victim literate in English? Perhaps they could not read the warning signs.

[HuckleB]

108. Has anyone considered that this might be a suicide?

[NutmegYankee]

133. I imagine people would look for less painful ways. nt

[pinboy3niner]

135. His sister said he slipped and fell

Though people have been known to commit suicide in very painful ways--self-immolation, for one example.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

138. "Slipped and fell". And wound up over 200 yards from the boardwalk?

Sure. With a hot spring in his step. Go ahead, magma day.

[pinboy3niner]

140. Walked off the boardwalk 225 yards and then slipped and fell

Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, was with his sister and had traveled about 225 yards off the boardwalk on Tuesday when he slipped and fell into the hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin, park officials said.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/montana/nothing-to-recover-after-man-goes-in-hot-spring/article_fd148933-ae4d-559b-932f-442e9e1d8a4e.html

[HuckleB]

143. Thanks for the update.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

111. I'v lived almost my entire life near or on the roads to major tourist attractions

Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Arizona Deserts.

The biggest problem has always been dumbass tourists.

From those suddenly blocking traffic by stopping to look at wildlife near the road, to those disobeying signs warning to stay away from said wildlife, to those who go 'out on the edge', people seem to leave their common sense at home when they go on vacation.

The Bison can stand 6 feet high at the shoulder and weigh up to a ton. They are NOT cute, fluffy critters. As has been mentioned before, the greatest number of bad human/animal interactions at Yellowstone comes from bison. They are very protective of their herd, and can react quite violently to any perceived threat, from hooking an adversary with their horns and tossing it into the air, to trampling the adversary into the dust. Often both. Can you get the concept of the pressure that a ton of bison can exert on a hoof roughly 6 inches in diameter? Now imagine that pressure on your body. It's gonna HURT.

A full-grown male Grizzly will weigh in about 600 - 800 pounds. Their striated muscle fiber (the muscles under voluntary control) is the same as a human's, but has 10 times the contractile power. The effort it takes you to pick up a 1 pound weight is the same expended picking up a 10 pound weight by the bear. Each paw has 5 very large, sharp claws, about 4 inches long. A full grown boar grizzly can break the neck of a bison with a swipe of its paw. While up to 4 ft high at the shoulder while walking, it can stand up to 8 ft high on the back legs. And they are scavengers, so their breath is worse than horrible. You DO NOT want to get anywhere near one of these.

And every year some idiot tourist wants to take a selfie with a bison, or get a picture of Junior feeding a Grizz some Twinkies. It invariably ends badly.

Someone wants to get past the railing or the warning wall to get a better photo of The Canyon. They forget that there are possibly loose rocks. It's 3000 feet STRAIGHT DOWN. There was a T-shirt the Park Service people were wearing a couple years ago with the words "Gravity Kills" emblazoned on them. Do you see a connection?

Then there is the hiker that wants to hike with only a can of Coke or a single bottle of water to the other side and back. The straight line distance is about 12 miles. But it's also a MILE down, and the North Rim is 1500 ft higher than the South Rim. Again those are straight line figures, it doesn't include the switchbacks, the canyons, the trail meanderings to follow the various geographical features.

While the temperature may be a balmy 75 degrees at South Rim, you have to remember that previously mentioned mile change in altitude. It can be well over 100 degrees at the bottom. There are a few places where you can get water; Indian Gardens, Pipe Creek, Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood, and Roaring Springs along the Bright Angel trail, or Tipoff along the Kaibab trail before it joins the Bright Angel, but there is some serious vertical hiking before you get to these.

It is said that the best way to prepare for a summer hike in The Canyon is to work as a roofer in Phoenix.

Again, there those that see elk (wapiti) along the road and stop to take pictures. Usually without pulling over to the side of the road. One moment of inattention by another driver, and Bad Things happen.

"Out in the desert, everything is either thorny, horny, or venomous.", as one wag put it. It doesn't take much to imagine what happens when someone tries to take a 'selfie' with a rattlesnake. Or bother a Gila Monster.

Then there are the basic climate conditions themselves. Single digit humidity levels, 100 plus degree temperatures, rough terrain, etc... There are reasons it's called a 'desert'. Go hiking the wrong time of year, and the only way your body gets located is when the rescue personnel see the circling vultures.

Do you see why many people have an attitude about tourists? Someone goes past the warning signs, over the railing, off the trail or violates common sense, and dies because of the choices they made to ignore the warnings. People cannot be protected from the consequences of their stupidity all the time. Sometimes Darwin wins. Maybe their fate was to serve as a warning to others. The more their tale is spread, the greater the chance of someone, somewhere will not try to duplicate the events.

The world is NOT a safe place. There are things out there that will try to kill you. One of those things may even be yourself.

[PoliticAverse]

137. Interesting, sobering, post. n/t

[Oneironaut]

189. Not only that, but then the bear associates humans with food.

Not "Oh, that human gave me food. How nice of them." More like, "I saw a human, they didn't kill me when I walked up to them, and my belly was full after." People don't realize how powerful a bear really is. It could rip your face off with one swipe, killing you instantly.
When Junior feeds a bear a Twinkie, it'll be waiting for the next human to come along, hoping for another. When it doesn't get one, it's still looking for food. It's probably going to be agitated. You may have a sandwich, or snacks in your backpack. Putting 2+2 together, if this happens to be you, there's a very good chance you're going to get the shit mauled out of you - especially when your dumb animal brain tries to override reason and tells you to run away (further agitating the bear and activating its prey instinct).
This reads like the worst "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" version ever, but a bear isn't a pet. It doesn't need human food. It's a dangerous fucking ball of muscle, fur, and razor-sharp teeth and claws. It has evolved to kill very quickly. That some dumbass tourist would even want to get close to such a thing is frankly hard to fathom. It could literally kill you and your entire family with little effort.
In 99% of bear attacks, the common denominator seems to be someone feeding it.

[HuckleB]

118. Everyone should know the story of Bumpass Hell in Lassen NP.

http://www.backpacker.com/trips/california/lassen-volcanic-national-park/lassen-national-park-bumpass-hell/#bp=0/img1

If you do, you stay on the boardwalk.

[tenderfoot]

120. Zero sympathy until it happens to you.

Because you're death proof and everyone else is stupid.

[HuckleB]

122. And there is Truman Everts...

http://www.yellowstonepark.com/truman-everts/

[kwassa]

124. This is not unusual news. Was happening forty years ago ...

when I worked in Yellowstone. 1976.

Many of the geysers and hot springs are in the back country, which is basically anytime you walk forty feet away away from the few highways in Yellowstone, which a tiny percentage of visitors do.

It is extremely easy to walk into a hot spring and get parboiled.

We used the streams that ran off from the hot springs as natural hot tubs, but we were careful. We were hit by a thunder snow storm on top of a mountain in the middle of July, which caused all of us to run down a shale mountain side, as the temperature dropped forty degrees, and jumped into the stream to keep us warm.

[Socal31]

129. If only those do-gooders were there that day instead of when they kidnapped the baby bison.

Two tragedies could have combined for a single heroic incident instead.

[Shrike47]

131. The crust in many thermal areas is thin and fragile. If you walk on it you can damage it forever.

Walking in restricted areas in Yellowstone is a form of vandalism.

Some people have little sense and don't care about the damage they can cause.

[PoliticAverse]

136. Followup: Rangers end search for man’s body in Yellowstone hot spring

From: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/montana/nothing-to-recover-after-man-goes-in-hot-spring/article_fd148933-ae4d-559b-932f-442e9e1d8a4e.html

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Rangers suspended their attempts on Wednesday to recover the body of a man who wandered from a designated boardwalk and fell into an acidic hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, another in a string of incidents raising concerns over visitor behavior.

“They were able to recover a few personal effects,” park spokeswoman Charissa Reid said. “There were no remains left to recover.”

Colin Nathaniel Scott, 23, of Portland, was with his sister and had traveled about 225 yards off the boardwalk on Tuesday when he slipped and fell into the hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin, park officials said.

After Scott’s sister reported the fall, rangers navigated over the highly-fragile crust of the geyser basin to try to recover his body. They halted the effort Wednesday “due to the extreme nature and futility of it all,” Reid said, referring to the high temperature and acidic nature of the spring.

[dbackjon]

145. So his body dissolved.

[backscatter712]

147. That or his body's submerged in boiling water.

The rangers aren't about to risk being boiled.

He's probably been turned into soup and bones by now.

[dbackjon]

148. the water is highly acidic

[backscatter712]

149. That's a mean soup! n/t

[Mendocino]

163. You've got that.

The mud pots of Yellowstone are dissolved rock, the liquids in them closer to acid than water.

[Mendocino]

141. I was at Zion NP in late April 2010,

two young men attempted to float down the the Virgin River on a raft built of logs. No PFDs, no wet or dry suits, cold spring runoff, the Narrows were closed to hiking due to high water. They both drowned. A few days later a women hiking solo, fell from Scouts Landing. I was there five days and in that time, three deaths.

I've been going to National parks and wild places all my life. I have seen every kind of reckless behavior imaginable. Many people either have no idea that their activities could be dangerous or they think they just enough experience to engage in something way over their heads. Common sense seems to be left in the car or motel far too often.

The wild is not an amusement park, a petting zoo or a place for the "hold my beer and watch this" crowd.

[HuckleB]

153. Apparently his sister was with him, so perhaps we will find out a bit more.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/montana/nothing-to-recover-after-man-goes-in-hot-spring/article_fd148933-ae4d-559b-932f-442e9e1d8a4e.html

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

155. Since the news reports indicate . . .

. . . that he walked some 225 yards off the boardwalk with his sister, I would suspect that he wasn't thinking "suicide." Instead, one may imagine he was one of those persons -- who are, to my mind, too much with us -- who "thinks" that neither rules nor laws (including, apparently, the law of gravity) actually do apply to his enormously special self.

As a consequence, he is dead, his loved ones are no doubt heartbroken, and some hard-working (and doubtlessly, underpaid) park rangers had to take their own lives into their hands in what proved to be a futile effort to recover the (now non-existent) remains of this selfish, self-centered fool.

[jberryhill]

181. Thank goodness he is dead and the earth is rid of him then

Had he survived, then we'd have had to do him in ourselves.

Sheesh.

[Mendocino]

161. A number of years back,

I read the memoirs of a former national park ranger. She quit the service mainly because she was burnt out and exhausted from having to participate in so many Search/Rescue/Recovery missions. They brought more dead bodies than alive.

[librechik]

162. hold my beer and watch this n/t

[GaYellowDawg]

165. Stupid actions, but a horrible way to die.

I don't think it could get much more painful than being boiled to death.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

171. I was scared when I walked along that boardwalk

my son was 7 at the time and I clung on to him as we walked along those boards. It's very scary.

[MFM008]

178. Im surprised they didnt shoot a Bison

just for the hell of it............

[backscatter712]

188. In this one, stupidity comes with a painful punishment.

Yep. Just blithely ignore the signs warning of horrible boiling death, not to mention the sensations of heat and steam all around you, and watch what happens...

[Mendocino]

182. Another Yellowstone incident

A group was kicked out of the park yesterday for walking off the boardwalk. No one fell through and no injuries. I saw the footage on the Weather Channel site.

Is this a fad now, some sort of you-tube truth or dare?

[Ex Lurker]

190. People don't think rules apply to them

it's everywhere.