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Wow! Poor guy...ow. I wish him the best and a speedy recovery.
Poor guy? He endured five hours of being cold and now he's famous. He'll be on The Today Show as soon as he's out of the hospital and since he is only listed as guarded that should be in a day, two at most. He got away with only minor injuries. He's a lucky guy not a poor guy. He might even get a book deal and a T.V. movie out of this.
Fortunately, no rescuers were killed in the kid's extravagance - this time.
BGR: somehow, I don't imagine the guy enjoying this. such hypocrisy too. I suppose you would turn down the rescue and a chance to have a little fun with telling the story.
Cheetah - Yeah because hiking across a bridge (albeit a snow bridge) is oh, so dangerous. I have seen your posts many times. Go back to your Xanax.
I foresee many painful skin grafts for this kid.
I can only hope as much for you, GBR.
There has a been a full time park attendant there for the last several years just for this reason. The job was cut even tho the Valdez people petitioned for it. The state parks used the money to hire a ranger who is not able to be there daily due to approx 16 other parks he must cover. This might not have happened if someone was there to watch out and advise visitiors as before. The state park should take some of the blame for this.
Nope, wrong.
At what point in this article did it say he had frostbite?
Wishing pain and torment on others. You're such a fine human being.
I was only wishing you fame and fortune, along with a book and made-for-TV movie deal. What's wrong with that?
Tell your lies elsewhere.
So, it's OK for the kid, but not you? What's a little pain if you get to be famous?
Your words, not mine.
My first thought was another dumb climber but this was an accident. Wish you well, you made the news dude!
Actually, he was another dumb climber. Apparently does not know much about snow bridges and safety gear to prevent this from happening, or reduce the likelihood anyways. I am glad he is ok, but really? He was with his younger brother? Not a safe way to venture across a glacier.
He's not "okay", you fool. He was skin against ice for five hours. That means catastrophic frostbite type damage. I wonder if they, in addition to having a difficult time removing him from the wedge, had to literally peel his skin off the ice.
Since your post implies you're qualified to label climbers 'dumb' or otherwise, please, inform us which peaks you have summitted.
I hope he is ok. Quick thinking from the brother too. speedy recovery.
Lucky he had someone with him to get help.
I can't help but reflect on the fact that a lot of people sweltering from the high temperatures around the eastern states must be thinking how great it would feel to have glacial ice next to their skin right now. :)
Hiking on a glacier wearing sweats? No common sense. No preparation. No equipment. Apparently the parent/parents were missing. Talk about survival by dumb luck.
Lighten up, Rontron.... Were you "street savy" at 16? Doubt it, as most of us normal folk did dumb things at that age, too.......... you included. Looks like he'll live to tell this story another day, although he's currently in "guarded" condition, which isn't the best situation...
Bit of a difference between smoking pot, listening to rap, and drinking booze vs hiking in freekin Alaska though.
Your right Rontron I got pics of them bringing him down and he was really far up it with no climbing gear. His grandma said he was dumb.
Rontronis right, his survival was pure luck. Crevasses don't normally give up their victims alive, either you suffocate in a converging crevasse, that is you get wedged in so tight that you cannot breath, or you simply fall to your death in a diverging crevasse. Only a total fool would walk on a glacier without proper safety equipment, a guide, or both. Aside from that, here's hoping the kid recovers and does something good with his good fortune.
Glad he's okay. Sounds like a bad idea went sideways. There's a reason for "viewing areas". Average people underestimate situations all the time. If you aren't prepared to go there, then don't go there. On the up side, at least he didn get caught in a circle jerk in his Jr High School classroom.
Poor kid! Hopefully he'll have a speedy recovery!
He dropped 50 ft?! That alone could have done him in. Being wedged in skin against ice had to be unbearable. I can't even hold an ice cube for a couple minutes imagine having at least the lower half of you exposed to the ice for 5 hours!
Glad the brother was there to get help to him asap. Bet it was scary for him as well.
Godspeed to Kurt's recovery both physically and emotionally.
What were they doing out there with out parental supervision?
Hiking.
They were with their grandparents.
he's 16. Hiking.
Probably having the time of his life before he got stuck.
Damn, I wonder how much of his skin was ripped off his body? :::shudder:::
I was there a the glacier and it clearly has signs that say no climbing. Yhey also didn't say his granddad climbed up to keep him company til recue got there.
Reminds me of Dumb and Dumber when Harry was riding on the ski lift and got his tongue stuck on the lift pole. "Oh look! Frost!"
I hope there are no pictures of the rescue. He will never get a prom date if some shots go viral after he was sans pants in ice for that long.
Some little girls that crave a demi-celebrity will latch themselves to him. He'll be fine.
Stories like this just frost my butt.
Sounds like with the wedge, he was a snow cone without the cone and the snow :-)
How cool was that? Glad he will make a full recovery. But I am guessing he has figured out that NO Climbing really means NO as in none , not any ,not today, not tommorrow either. I realize that it must have been a hard lesson to learn but at least he survived the experience.
That kid is going to loose alot of flesh, bummrer
On sunny days when visiting incredible places in one's youthful days it is easy to get caught up in the wonder of the beauty of life and how amazing some locations are. And an individual is easily tricked into that common belief at that stage, of the invincibility and absolute conviction of being in control of everything about them. So often time and again the need to grab life by the horns and have an adventure beckons a youth into a course time and again until they encounter something which proves to be near fatal. Shocked and shaken into the reality that they in fact are mortal and life can be cruel and short most move on wiser if not scarred and forever humbler with a wiser perspective. No doubt this young man sadly has learned in a very painful way, nature is unforgiving for those who venture out unprepared and however beautiful her scenery there can always linger death. Any other youth who are any wiser will learn from his example and avoid such a fate. Now doubt many more will simple brush it aside, falsely believing they would have avoided the crevice.
I thought "man made Global Warming" had already melted all the glaciers.
This park has had a full time park attendant for the last several years. The state parks did not fund one for this year. Valdez residents petitioned for someone due to the safety concerns. Funding was approved but state parks added it to a rangers position who is to monitor approx 16 other parks meaning he is there "as can be". This was an accident waiting to happen. The previous park attendant was there to advise and watch for such possibilities. State parks of Alaska need to take some responsibility if they are allow visitors to enter unattended parks.
We have to start somewhere, all making mistakes along the way. I am grateful that he made it out alive. I already have learned from "Into The Wild" and by simply seeing the vastness and unpredictability of Alaskan weather and the global warming first hand. I still yearn to challenge it against my sane thinking. I know if given a choice, I would rather freeze than burn.