# Could you rescue yourself from a cliff edge?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 17, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934 "2019-01-17T16:57:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934/81 "2019-04-24T16:34:31Z")

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> [@Dinsdale](#):
>
> Thought of this thread when I saw [in the news this a.m.](https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/31/yosemite-man-died-after-hanging-off-cliff-to-get-dramatic-photograph/), that a youth who fell to his death in Yosemite last fall was apparently trying to get a selfie of himself hanging from a cliff. :rolleyes:
> 
> He was unable to pull himself back up. Bystanders tried to grab his arms, but were unable to pull him up, and his sweat caused him to slip from their grasp.

I wish they wouldn’t refer to it as an “accident.” There was nothing accidental about it, it was deliberate stupidity. Sorry for his family, but I have zero sympathy for him.

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**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934/82 "2019-04-24T18:45:02Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Why not - we all relish a good pun.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

And the assistance they mustard up was insufficient.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934/83 "2019-04-24T19:04:56Z")

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I’m not strong enough to do a proper pull-up, but that’s not really relevant, because in a situation like that, I’m going to cheat: I’ll be adjusting my grip, swinging my body, pushing off with my legs, and so on. If I can get a good enough grip, I think I could probably manage it. But getting a good enough grip is iffy, and even with that, I don’t like my chances enough to account for the consequences of failure.

I imagine the process going something like pulling and swinging a bit to get one arm on top to the elbow, then the other arm on top to the shoulder, then both arms to the shoulder, then swinging one leg up, and then once both arms and one leg are up, sort of rolling the rest of the way up.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-rescue-yourself-from-a-cliff-edge/827934/84 "2019-04-24T19:27:41Z")

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> [@Dinsdale](#):
>
> And the assistance they mustard up was insufficient.

It came too late, and they could never catch up.

Regards,  
Shodan

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