According to a National Park Service news release, the 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the desert ground. The result: third-degree burns.
“The skin was melted off his foot,” said Death Valley National Park Service Ranger Gia Ponce. “The ground can be much hotter — 170, 180 [degrees]. Sometimes up into the 200 range.”
Unable to get out on his own and in extreme pain, the man and his family recruited other park visitors to help; together, the group carried him to the sand dunes parking lot, where park rangers assessed his injuries.
Though they wanted a helicopter to fly him out, helicopters can’t generate enough lift to fly in the heat-thinned air over the hottest parts of Death Valley, officials said. So park rangers summoned an ambulance that took him to higher ground, where it was a cooler 109 degrees and he could then be flown out.
If i was ever going to hike in death valley I’d probably want to go on like a guided group hike, I’d have plenty of sunscreen, snacks and a camelbak filled with ice water.
A lot of people don’t realize it’s hot far past the point that wearing light clothing is helpful, you actually need to be much more covered, like walking into an oven.
And not go in the summer time.
Why would any tourist want to visit Death Valley when it’s comfortable? Extreme heat is the point.
Not that I agree.
This is kind of off topic, but I want to make sure to note that Death Valley is more than just heat! It’s one of my favorite places to visit so I can’t resist soapboxing a little when it comes up. I’ve only ever visited in the colder season, which is what most people do.
When I first visited Racetrack Playa there I laughed the whole time because it’s so amazing and strange. (It’s the place with rocks that leave zigzagging trails through the desert which were unexplained until pretty recently.) You can also hike the canyon where R2D2 is kidnapped in the original Star Wars, visit abandoned mining towns, climb the sand dunes, look over the valley from mountains that stay much cooler than the lower parts of the park… The variety is incredible! Highly recommend if you ever find yourself nearby when it’s not too hot.
And hopefully wise enough to not wear flippin flip flops
Wym flip flops are the hikers ideal choice
I’m more of a croc connoisseur if you will. They provide air holes for speed and even offer rear straps for 4wd mode
And not in fucking July.
Id go in November minimum. Id prefer winter though, I want to watch the boulders migrate.
“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and it melts your skin off.”
Though they wanted a helicopter to fly him out, helicopters can’t generate enough lift to fly in the heat-thinned air over the hottest parts of Death Valley, officials said. So park rangers summoned an ambulance that took him to higher ground, where it was a cooler 109 degrees and he could then be flown out.
TIL.
Death Valley: We mean it.
Legit, I did not know this until I read this article, either.
People almost dying in “Death Valley”?
People die there every year. People aren’t too bright sometimes.
The best part is no matter what health insurance he has (or doesn’t have), that’s gonna be expensive as fuck by the end of the year.
Belgian. So probably no freedumb buck based medical system. Wouldn’t be surprised if those systems also cover citizens while abroad.
They don’t, you’re advised to buy the most expensive travel insurance you can find when going to USA or Canada.
International travel health insurance is not that expensive in Europe. In Germany you can get it for the equivalent of around $15-20 a year. Then you are fully insured for a travel period of 8 weeks per year. Insurances like that also exist in Belgium.
True, I worked with travel insurance for a while in Euorpe. It’s still advised to get better coverage ones when going to North America, even several travel insurances, as the top amount in the cheapest ones will not be enough to even open an American hospital door.
So do we just need to close death valley or require permits in the summer or something? The safety issues seem to be compounding with the extreme heat.
Rangers can do their best to inform visitors and provide necessary services for survival, but at the end of the day, safety is one’s own responsibility.
I assume you have to pay a fee to enter Death Valley National Park, and like every National Park I assume the rangers at the entrance and signage all throughout warn you of potential dangers. You can easily get yourself in trouble at Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, or Big Bend National Parks, for example, if you don’t take the risks seriously and make poor decisions.
Sure but those other parks… they aren’t called “Deathstone” or “Death Mountain” or “Big Death”…
I feel like Death Valley is being very frank with you on the matter.
A group of European-American pioneers got lost here in the winter of 1849-1850, while looking for a shortcut to the gold fields of California, giving Death Valley its grim name. Although only one of the group members died here, they all assumed that the valley would be their grave.
I bet more people have died at each of the other 3 parks than at Death Valley NP. Maybe there’s data out there on that somewhere
Interestingly, the park service have a very nice dashboard to look at this:
https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/mortality-data.htm
However, it doesn’t give you the deaths per count of visitors.
This article claims Denali, to be the top park in deaths per capita.
https://www.backpacker.com/survival/the-10-most-dangerous-national-parks-in-america/
It looks like Death Valley is up there, but not the highest, due to motor vehicle accidents. This makes sense since going to death valley ends up just being a lot of time in the car.
Don’t they do helicopter tours there? How does that work … and if/when it does, it seems like it’d be a dying industry…
Not in Death Valley as far as I’m aware, they do in the local area but not actually in Death Valley itself. I must admit though I’m a bit unclear about how far the really hot bit of Death Valley extends.
People chronically underestimate nature.
They see some beautiful desert, a peaceful sea, or an idyllic mountain and assume that nothing so pretty could possible hurt you.
Forget about cute animals that are actually dangerous, any of the above can secretly store so much energy that humans are completely insignificant gnats, in comparison.
We’ve become spoiled by how much we’ve bent nature to accommodate us. We’re more fragile than we think.
I went on “a hike” with “a friend” (big quotation marks here because they’re no longer a friend obviously) that quickly turned into an unanchored free climb with no way back down with one another friend who was baked.
Our chance of significant injury or death was 90% at 2200 feet up, and we managed to get out of the climb and back down without so much as a twisted ankle. A literal fucking miracle.
When we went for food later, all I could talk about was how close we were to death, and how I’m never doing that again, but they seemed completely unfazed.
My best assumption? Brain worms.
Toxoplasmosis Gondii destroys the fear impulse in humans and causes them to engage in increasingly risky behavior, until it eventually kills them. It’s how the parasite procreates in mice (leading them to predators and wild cats).
Some people are just very bad at risk assessment. I’m glad you survived!
Others are bad at risk assessment by over estimating risk. They are boring buzzkills.
Much better to overestimate risk than underestimate it when the risk is death!
But how worth living is a life overly guarded?
Is “not wearing flip flops in death valley” or "not climbing 200ft up a tree really OVERLY guarded, though? 🤔
There’s a big range between “never takes any risks” and “takes stupid pointless risks.”
Hah! Total failure!
The guy is still alive. Nice try Death Valley!
More like ouchie feet valley.
“Slightly Risky Valley” just doesn’t have the same bite.
Death Valley
To be fair, it is right there in the name.
“I thought that was like, ironic, bruh.”
“Irony didn’t get you into this mess, son.”
For those of you who don’t know Fahrenheit:
123F->50.5C
170F-180F-> 77-82C
200F->93C
109F -> 43C
Also -40F = -40C
I know what -40 feels like.
I’d still take that over the other end of the spectrum.
You can always put warmer clothes on. You can’t keep taking them off.
Yea, people look at me like a deer in headlights when I tell them that.
So, basically it’s like checking how close the water in a pot on the stove is to boiling by putting your hand in it, then falling and putting all your weight on that hand as it sits on the bottom of the pot, and being unable to lift it again for a few minutes.
Something like that.
For those of you who only know temperatures based on internal temperature of cooked meats:
123F-danger zone of most meats, some bacteria will continue to grow at these temperatures
170F- all meats including ground poultry are safe to eat at this temperature, but most people would call steak way overdone at this temperature
200F- start of 6 pack number 2 for cooking brisket, depending on what texture you’re going for you might be able to pull it or drink another beer
109F- you trying to kill someone with that burger?
And for those of you who only know temperatures based on brewing tea or coffee:
123F: Probably insufficient for even fairly delicate teas. You could probably make “sun tea” at this temperature by leaving tea in room temperature water to be heated by the sun, but this is not recommended as anything below ~130F is considered the danger zone for bacterial growth.
170F: This is the appropriate temperature for delicate or green teas to preserve flavor, antioxidants, and prevent bitterness.
200F: An acceptable temperature below boiling (212F) for black teas and coffee where overextraction is minimal.
109F: Unacceptable for tea brewing, barely above body temperature.
We make sun tea by leaving it outside (90’s, 35c). In the sun. It’s a bit like cold brew, it takes longer to extract the flavors.
It’s also bitter so generally sweetened with lemon juice. And some form of sugar. (Honey preferred.)
Correct, I should clarify, you are likely safe brewing sun tea at those ambient temperatures because the glass of the brewing vessel will trap the sun and heat the tea higher than that, like a car traps heat on a hot day. You’ll likely hit 130F+ easily and be out of the danger zone!
This makes me want to see someone cook steak in Death Valley by merely using the heat of the ground.
Thanks for translating. It is so frustrating when people only use their weird localized temperature scale.
Hmm ‘tis an American news source
The Belgian burnt his feet in °c tho
Thank you, it all makes sense now.
why do people keep going here. does nobody watch the local news there or is it all biden gone here’s herris, trunp maga pooble dooble and nothing actually local?
The average person has become accustomed to no threats to their life. You know how they tell you not to feed wild animals, because they become accustomed to it and can’t fend for themselves? It’s like that.
Technically, the reason they tell you not to feed wild animals is because they’re likely to maul you when you run out of food.
A more cynical way I’ve seen this put: we’ve made it too easy for stupid people to survive.
I guess you can say it was no walk in the park for that guy. I’ll see myself out.
Hopefully this wasn’t the sole destination on his trip
I can’t feel bad for these people. Death Valley in mid-summer and you go unprepared. I suppose it’s a testament to our amazing transportation systems.
Yeah, if you’re going to venture into dangerous areas at least learn basic survival skills. Like why the hell didn’t he wrap his feet using his clothes?
It’s really bizarre. These kinds of people shouldn’t leave the city gates without someone experienced in case something like this happens. Hope he gets well though.
Experienced in what? Reading comprehension? The place is called DEATH valley. Pair of flip flops will do?
Experience with not dying in hostile environments. The bar isn’t that high, all you need is some common sense, that apparently, this fella did not have.
