# Yosemite Slam **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781 "2018-10-31T12:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781/21 "2018-11-01T20:32:14Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Sad to see that a majority of these deaths are people ranging in ages 17-22. IDK if that’s because younger people are more likely to take selfies or that younger people tend to feel indestructible and take more risks. Adolescent brains tend to underestimate risk and vulnerability, which I guess goes toward “feeling indestructible.” There’s a reason car insurance is more expensive if you’re under 25. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781/22 "2018-11-01T20:39:28Z")
This happened several days ago and has been much in the local news. Honestly, I’m having a hard time feeling anything but sympathy for their family and friends. Maybe they were really stupid-- I don’t know. Yosemite is very special to me. I’ve spent a lot of time there hiking and camping. I like to think good thoughts about it, and this is very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781/23 "2018-11-01T22:07:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yosemite is very special to me. I’ve spent a lot of time there hiking and camping. I like to think good thoughts about it, and this is very sad. Yosemite averages about 15-20 fatalities annually, mostly from drownings and falls. Not so bad, when you consider that they have anywhere from 4 - 5 million visitors a year. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781/24 "2018-11-01T22:29:16Z")
There are books _Death in Yosemite_ and _Death in Yellowstone_ collecting a lot of cautionary tales. It is true that a lot of the Darwin Awards-level stuff could have been easily avoided, though even if you are careful outdoor sports remain more risky than staying home at your apartment in the city. I met a guy who was hit by falling rocks while mountain climbing (plenty of surgery, but a helmet saved his life), and someone else who fell off a cliff while hiking alone (presumably selfie-related) and died. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781/25 "2018-11-02T23:50:08Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I met a guy who was hit by falling rocks while mountain climbing (plenty of surgery, but a helmet saved his life), and someone else who fell off a cliff while hiking alone (presumably selfie-related) and died. Patrick Swayze? > [@chappachula](#): > > There are several places in Yosemite Park that have [signs](http://radified.com/HalfDome/uwilldie.htm) saying “if you go here, you will die”. > I think the signs are in places that are deceptive–for example: a nice, cool stream, that is tempting for a tired hiker to wade in,and does not appear to be dangerous. Up north of here, there was a local tourist council that got some publicity for putting up signs directing visitors _too_ the local rocks and waterfall. The one with the local native/aboriginal tradition that it was inhabited by a Bunyip. Because, you know, people who went there slipped on the rocks, got sucked into the waterfall, and died. And water spirits and aboriginal stories are good for tourism so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yosemite-slam/823781.md?page=1)