Darth Avlectus Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Article? CLICK ME!!! Fresh off the press about 2 hours ago: The Article Two Montana men ice climbing in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park apparently fell several hundred feet to their deaths Monday. The two, both in their late 20s, are believed to be recent residents of Bozeman, Montana, the park said in a release Tuesday. They reportedly had several years of ice and mountain climbing experience. Their identities were being withheld pending both confirmation and notification of family members. Friends contacted the park about 1:00 p.m. Monday, to report the pair had left Sunday for a day hike from Artist Point and had not returned. As search efforts got under way Monday afternoon, further investigation revealed that the two had actually set out on Saturday to ice climb Silver Cord Cascade, a thin cascade below the canyon's south rim. This series of waterfalls originates from the South Rim of the canyon, northeast of Artist Point. It drops several hundred feet to the canyon floor into the Yellowstone River. After rescuers stationed on a North Rim viewpoint observed what appeared to be an immobile individual and climbing gear on the climb, a technical rescue operation commenced. As darkness fell Monday evening, a rescue team member was able to rappel into the canyon. The men were observed dead on a rock ledge about 300 feet below the canyon rim. Initial observations of the scene and gear configuration indicate that the fall was likely due to collapse of the ice column during the men’s ascent. A helicopter and three climbing rangers from Grand Teton National Park have joined a Yellowstone rescue team of about 20 individuals. Recovery efforts continue today, hampered by foul weather and the remote scene location. Rock and ice climbing are activities fraught with inherent risk. All hiking and climbing in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is prohibited from Brink of the Upper Falls down river to the Silver Cord Cascade drainage. Rangers believe climbers attempt Silver Cord Cascade about 1-3 times a year. So kiddies, make sure if you ice climb a frozen waterfall, that it's nice and thick BEFORE you do it. Otherwise...you'd best just go rock climbing or ice climb somewhere else. >_> I mean seriously, rock climbing is fun all by itself...and yes Ice climbing can be fun as well if it's done well into an area that won't likely collapse while you're hundreds of feet up already. Guess it was the thrill of being in the grand canyon and breaking the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urluckyday Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Natural selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Worthy of a Darwin award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ping Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Worthy of a Darwin award. Ditto. They did something that was just plain crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samnmax221 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 It's almost June........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 It's almost June........ Yeah, but it's Montana. It snows there until July 8th, warms up to 60 for a day, and then snows again the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordOfTheFish Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Natural selection. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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