I preferred the other headline:

Man survives 300 foot fall into Grand Canyon...dies during sudden stop at bottom

Years ago I walked down the Grand Canyon and back up again, but I managed to take a wrong turn someplace and ended up peeking over an omfg cliff. I wonder if the people on the mules know beforehand how close they get to the edge, as everytime they passed I made dam sure I was the one hugging the rocks away from the edge.

I was there a few years ago, surprised how little there is to stop you falling off the edge in the main touristy bit.

/Footpath. Three inch high curb. Flat rocky area about five feet wide. Sheer drop.

steevmit: Years ago I walked down the Grand Canyon and back up again, but I managed to take a wrong turn someplace and ended up peeking over an omfg cliff. I wonder if the people on the mules know beforehand how close they get to the edge, as everytime they passed I made dam sure I was the one hugging the rocks away from the edge.

I did the same thing and thanked jebus that I didn't take a mule down the trail.

This turn really scared the crap outta me, though its hard to tell from the pic how far down it goes. Both these pics were taken from pretty much the same spot. (pops for biggen)
(new window)

You_mean_Im_gonna_stay_this_color: I did the same thing and thanked jebus that I didn't take a mule down the trail.

That looks like the one I did, Bright Angel Trail and the Devil's Corkscrew. Great adventure, I can't wait to take the kids down there one day but at the moment they're a bit too young.

BOBBY?!
CINDY?!
BOBBY?!
CINDY?!

steevmit: That looks like the one I did, Bright Angel Trail and the Devil's Corkscrew.

Yes thats exactly where those pics were taken. But they don't nearly capture the view that you get in 3D when you're actually there.

zz9: I was there a few years ago, surprised how little there is to stop you falling off the edge in the main touristy bit.

/Footpath. Three inch high curb. Flat rocky area about five feet wide. Sheer drop.

It's called natural selection.

strangeguitar: BOBBY?!
CINDY?!
BOBBY?!
CINDY?!

BOB-splat
CIN-splat

I liked the gasps and 'oh my god...what are they doing!!?!?' when we went scrambling out there. I was high on drugs at the time too... Darwin missed, I suppose.

In August, a 4-year-old girl became the youngest person ever to fall from the canyon's rim and die.

The girl fell near Mather Point and her father immediately scrambled down the cliffs to reach her. The child's body was recovered from a spot about 400 to 500 feet below the rim.

For the people who fall off the canyon you shouldn't be so stupid. But, the comment about the 4 year-old falling to her death was really sad. I know that 4 year-olds can be pretty crazy and hard to handle sometimes, but I wonder why the father wasn't being more careful.

all kidding aside guys, have the lawsuits been filed yet?

You_mean_Im_gonna_stay_this_color: I preferred the other headline:

Man survives 300 foot fall into Grand Canyon...dies during sudden stop at bottom

That is seriously a billiony times better headline. Can we get a ruling?

Victoria Falls (clicky)

And this is why I now refer to it as the Big Scary Hole In The Ground.

You_mean_Im_gonna_stay_this_color: Yes thats exactly where those pics were taken. But they don't nearly capture the view that you get in 3D when you're actually there.

Next time take a 3D picture (pops). Grand Canyon pictures are pretty hopeless in 2D.

A couple of years ago my wife and I went to the Grand Canyon. She found a book that listed everyone who had managed to get killed there, and, if the author knew, how it happened. If you are careful, its a good time, if not, well, Darwin and Murphy are cast iron b*stards sometimes.

Some areas at the rim are not protected by railings.

This should throw liberals into a rant because we're clearly not doing enough to stop stupid people from doing stupid things. Gee, some areas at the rim of the GRAND CANYON are not protected by railings? ORLY?

"Does bouncing count?"

/very obscure
//I read a book once.

If I wasn't so lazy tonight, I would calculate how long it took him to splat.

Good thing the Federal Govt. runs this thing. If it were in the hands of private businesses there would be a giant fence around it.

zz9: I was there a few years ago, surprised how little there is to stop you falling off the edge in the main touristy bit.

/Footpath. Three inch high curb. Flat rocky area about five feet wide. Sheer drop.

yeah, i hear you. one would think the would make the fear of death a little more prominent.

i suppose rescue and recovery workers need to eat, too, though.

xtimx: all kidding aside guys, have the lawsuits been filed yet?


Natural geological environments can sue dumbasses?

He was having a really bad year, and when things looked like they couldn't get any worse, he hit rock bottom.

For god's sake, we still need a FEW things to drain the gene pool from time to time.

How else are Americans going to maintain their mental superiority over Great Britain?

Friction8r: This should throw liberals into a rant because we're clearly not doing enough to stop stupid people from doing stupid things.

While you are bashing liberals, have a thought for conservatives who go into apoplexy at the sight of a chick's nipple or a simple word that everybody knows but cannot be allowed to hear on the radio or TV.
Please save us from that.

steevmit: Years ago I walked down the Grand Canyon and back up again, but I managed to take a wrong turn someplace and ended up peeking over an omfg cliff. I wonder if the people on the mules know beforehand how close they get to the edge, as everytime they passed I made dam sure I was the one hugging the rocks away from the edge.

The mules only go down the Bride Angel and Kaibab trails, where most people walk up and down the canyon. The Bride Angel trail has water fountains and bathrooms, and are more or less paved 3-4' wide from river to rim. Not much danger, other than being robbed by a fellow hiker.

There are many other trails in the Canon where not only is the trail difficult to follow (some trails have only a permit or two during the year), but you start to wonder how the fark the parks service "sells" permits for foot travel without people dying. Then again, many of these trails don't have car tourists walking them...

The time we went, my oh so very intelligent brother managed to drop his camera, packpack(with his clothes for the next 3 days inside) and wallet off the side. We all laughed at him, then took the mule ride to the bottom. We finally get back up to the top, and some guys had found his backpack and wallet and brought them up to the visitor center lost and found.. and most of his camera.

He's a lucky bastard, but one guy with a yappy dog wasn't lucky.. the little annoying thing was running around like a moron and kept nipping at people. One guy didn't like it and took a kick at the dog, and it jumped back from him, and right off one of those loooooooong straight cliffs. I didn't go look, but the guy who owned the smear (formerly known as "puppy") looked quite upset.

/I laughed.
//Darwin doesn't like yappy little dogs either.

The dude was a real optimist, half way down he was heard saying "so far so good".

0Icky0: While you are bashing liberals, have a thought for conservatives who go into apoplexy at the sight of a chick's nipple or a simple word that everybody knows but cannot be allowed to hear on the radio or TV.
Please save us from that.

Your herring. She is red.

Your dichotomy. She is false.

Fifty-three people accidentally stupidly fell to their deaths from the canyon rims between 1925 and 2005.

While you are bashing liberals, have a thought for conservatives who go into apoplexy at the sight of a chick's nipple ...

How the heck did THIS turn into a liberals-vs-conservatives thread so quickly? Even for Fark, this is a record.

Never been to the Grand Canyon, but it's on my list of things to do before I die. Preferably long before I die, since I don't plan to go sliding off the side when I'm there.

Mihaly Szabo, we hardly knew ya....

Took a horse trip down the canyon in the Havisoupi Indian reservation. On the way down, on a 3 foot wide trail, we were passed by a pack train, on the inside. The packs were carrying, no shiat, a bed and a couch. Our horses stood very still on the edge of a 1000 foot cliff. I forgot how tight a spinkter could get. My 11 year old was ammused.

Mihaly Szabo has been culled by Darwin

I can really relate to this. On one of my trips to the canyon, I left the marked trail and carefully made my way down a sand and gravel incline until I could see over the edge. It was about a 100 foot drop to the bottom. If I had slipped on the gravel it would have been curtains for me !!!

/I'll never do that again

Shaggy_C: I liked the gasps and 'oh my god...what are they doing!!?!?' when we went scrambling out there. I was high on drugs at the time too... Darwin missed, I suppose.

yikes

Mihaly Szabo of Ypsilanti was found near the Buggeln area.

/Can I momma dogface to the bannana patch?

Loved the "Dangerous Overlook Do not enter" signs when I was there.

Even more amusing were the tourists who had to get pictures of themselves standing just beyond the sign.

have a thought for conservatives who go into apoplexy at the sight of a chick's nipple or a simple word that everybody knows but cannot be allowed to hear on the radio or TV.

Not this conservative or any of the conservatives I know. You're talking about right-wing Christers, whom we loath since their idiocy makes some people think that's what conservatism is about. The conservatism in which I was raised and believe is about lower taxes, cutting entitlements, promoting a clement business environment and insuring a strong national defense, not obsessing over exposed nips and cuss words.

xtimx: all kidding aside guys, have the lawsuits been filed yet?

You are there strictly at your own risk. And yes they do say so. And the Park Service is under no obligation to rescue your ass either (though obviously they probably will).

Besides, the federal government can afford better lawyers than you can and they make the rules.

There is simply no way that they can put in and maintain guard rails around the whole thing. If no rails are a concern to someone they can stick to places that do. And quite a few observation points do indeed have rails.

Not all deaths are the result of stupid people. When I visited the park several years ago, I asked the ranger if she had any knowledge of people falling over. She said that on one occasion, a fellow standing close to the edge lost his balance when an earthquake hit the area. Wrong place at the wrong time.

Whether that was true or not, I still have nightmares and thoughts of being a terrible parent because I took my young kids there on vacation. It is scary as heck and death is all around you. If you have any emotional or mental issues, DO NOT VISIT THE GRAND CANYON!

Snakeophelia How the heck did THIS turn into a liberals-vs-conservatives thread so quickly? Even for Fark, this is a record.

Thank you...thank you very much.

/I'll be here all week.
//Try the veal.

One of life's great moments is sitting on the rim, no fence or railing between you and a 400' drop, and just EXPERIENCING the thing. I remember reading of a group of Japanese tourists who were surprised and exhilarated when they realized there were no gates, fences, ropes, walls, or rangers to keep you away. Quite a bit unlike back home where there is never a shortage of "officials" to keep you from gettng hurt, or living your life.

I used to live in Flagstaff (NAU grad). Been there in the winter; it's not a problem if you are wearing the proper footwear. I bet this guy had tennis shoes on.

BTW, most of the people who "fall" in the GC are pushed. The Rangers know it; but most of the time they can't prove it. But this guy, I suspect he was in his rental with tennies and hit some ice and went woosh.

/sad but it is a beautiful place if one has to die that way.

You know who else was amused when people died?

/Had to do it.

They should create more rim jobs.

So, anyone going to Photoshop "Om nom nom" on an overhead of the canyon for us?

rocknrico: Not all deaths are the result of stupid people. When I visited the park several years ago, I asked the ranger if she had any knowledge of people falling over. She said that on one occasion, a fellow standing close to the edge lost his balance when an earthquake hit the area. Wrong place at the wrong time.


LOL. That's a lie; she was pulling your leg. AZ does have earthquakes but none of them big enough to shake you off the edge. You wouldn't even be able to feel the ground move.