Yosemite deaths: Americans may have lost respect for nature’s risks
By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK – Just three weeks after death laid a heavy hand on the Merced River, sweeping three tourists to their deaths over Vernal Fall, life went on for a new crop of visitors, some of them oblivious to the danger before them.
On Wednesday, children waded in a small eddy just 50 yards from the edge. Some playfully teetered on a log that separated the eddy from the river’s torrent. Upstream, a man swam across Emerald Pool and back, crossing the Merced River current and ignoring warnings and prohibitions posted nearby.
It was just another summer day at Yosemite, one of many natural wonders in California that routinely tempt people to toy with danger.
The park has seen 14 deaths this year. That is about double the average for the season, but not record-setting.
There have been dozens of other deaths across the state, including ski and snowboarding fatalities during the winter, and numerous drownings in the months since, including two professional kayakers killed separately on remote Sierra Nevada creeks in recent weeks.
It is the kind of year that causes experts and casual hikers alike to question their relationship with nature. Are we underestimating the risks of commonplace outdoor recreation? Have modern Americans – taskmasters behind a steering wheel and in front of a computer – simply lost respect for nature’s whims?
No doubt. Between being able to call for help on our satellite cell phones from the tops of mountains, and watching people perform incredibly dangerous feats on tv every day without incident, Americans, especially the younger, pretty much see the world as Disney Land, where they can never get into any scrape that someone won’t rescue them from. Surprise!
There is no excuse for these statistics….there needs to be a column for “Operator Error”. People need to take responsibility for their own actions. Most people know the consequences of a wrong decision, the outcome escalates with “Extreme” situations. Years ago, my doctor fell off Half Dome….it happens. The Park did not do it. He chose to climb.