Don't Look Down

[BTBeilke]

I just got an email with some pictures of a photographer at the Grand Canyon that I had never seen before. After, seeing them, I felt sure that they had been doctored. But, according to TruthOrFiction.com, they are real. (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/gcdaredevil.htm)

Here is the link to Hans van de Vorst's (the photographer who took these pictures) original post and his narrative: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansvandevorst/216200392/in/set-72157594222213140/


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/216200392_636ce71ee4.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/316555153_fb4813ac20.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/89/216877526_cc15401cb7.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/217713707_6acbe67169.jpg

[tiktaalik]

I can't find them now, but another photographer got pictures of this same guy earlier in the day.

The guy has beer cans in that plastic bag. But then, perhaps one would need a bit of liquid fortification before doing what he did...

BTW, snopes.com is rather cranky about the photos. They classify them as True but the description as inaccurate. They make much of a ledge some way down from the two rock outcroppings below the shot. Technically, if the guy had fallen on that he would have fallen maybe 20-30 feet and not 900. However, after falling that 20-30 feet I think it would be easy to fall off that ledge too...

[August 15 Photography]

I have seen this before as well. The thing I dont understand if they are real, is how much different of a shot is he getting standing out on that little rock vs the main one he jumped back on to????????????

[CrazyStang]

Wow, all that in flip flops.

[BTBeilke]

BTW, snopes.com is rather cranky about the photos. They classify them as True but the description as inaccurate. They make much of a ledge some way down from the two rock outcroppings below the shot. Technically, if the guy had fallen on that he would have fallen maybe 20-30 feet and not 900. However, after falling that 20-30 feet I think it would be easy to fall off that ledge too...

Yes, the TruthOrFiction link in my original post says the same thing:

The pictures, and the narrative with the pictures, leave the impression that the drop between the column of rocks and the cliff was 900 meters (nearly 3,000 feet) to the bottom of the canyon. In reality, however, there is shelf between them that is out of sight below what is seen in the picture. If the tourist had missed the cliff, he would have dropped to that shelf. It is still a death-defying act for him, however, because the drop from the front or either side of the rock is to the bottom of the canyon and even hitting the shelf safely is a risk. Van de Vorst said that he did not intend to hide the shelf. From where he was watching the tourist the shelf was not visible and he did not know of it until a later time.

[BTBeilke]

I have seen this before as well. The thing I dont understand if they are real, is how much different of a shot is he getting standing out on that little rock vs the main one he jumped back on to????????????

I wondered the same thing and figured that either the "little rock" was in the way of what he wanted to photograph and couldn't be avoided from the main ledge or he jumped out there just because could.

[tiktaalik]

I wasn't able to open the TruthOrFiction link so thanks for reposting it. Snopes seemed to imply that Van de Vorst was intentionally hiding the shelf. Still, there's no way I'd make that jump even with the shelf below.

Oh, and why did he jump out there? Maybe those beer cans hold some of the answer :lol:


Yes, the TruthOrFiction link in my original post says the same thing:

The pictures, and the narrative with the pictures, leave the impression that the drop between the column of rocks and the cliff was 900 meters (nearly 3,000 feet) to the bottom of the canyon. In reality, however, there is shelf between them that is out of sight below what is seen in the picture. If the tourist had missed the cliff, he would have dropped to that shelf. It is still a death-defying act for him, however, because the drop from the front or either side of the rock is to the bottom of the canyon and even hitting the shelf safely is a risk. Van de Vorst said that he did not intend to hide the shelf. From where he was watching the tourist the shelf was not visible and he did not know of it until a later time.

[Barb42]

Definitely a prime candidate for the Darwin Award. If not this year, surely within the next few years or so.

[tiktaalik]

Found the picture I mentioned earlier.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumer1781/218854742/

[BeccaNH]

I saw a lot of people doing similarly crazy things the last time I was at the Grand Canyon. People don't seem to realize that most of those slopes beyond the safety barriers are covered with loose sand and gravel and are very slippery. And once you get sliding, its a long way to the bottom.... No picture is worth your life!

[Box Brownie]

Hmmmm!!! as someone who climbed a lot in my youth I saw a good few "sunday trippers" risking all in wasy they had no conception of.

I recall the following saying about bravery ~ An idiot will act not knowing the possible consequences but the hero will act in full knowledge of what could happen and know how to handle them. Heroic folk have been killed saving the idiots of the world.....!

[BTBeilke]

I found a photo with a different view of this rock structure. This feat doesn't look nearly as impressive from this angle, but you'd still be right out there on the edge. If you lost your balance jumping out there in the first place, it could be all over.

"http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/graphics/dumbluck5_small.jpg"
"http://graphics2.snopes.com/photos/natural/graphics/dumbluck5.jpg"

(They apparently don't allow linking to their photos on Snopes.com. Just cut and paste these links into the address bar of your browser.)

[Box Brownie]

I found a photo with a different view of this rock structure. This feat doesn't look nearly as impressive from this angle, but you'd still be right out there on the edge. If you lost your balance jumping out there in the first place, it could be all over.

"http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/graphics/dumbluck5_small.jpg"
"http://graphics2.snopes.com/photos/natural/graphics/dumbluck5.jpg"

(They apparently don't allow linking to their photos on Snopes.com. Just cut and paste these links into the address bar of your browser.)

Great, it does put it in context.

But for trying that with the kit under your arm and with poor choice of footwear........:rolleyes:

[BTBeilke]

Great, it does put it in context.

But for trying that with the kit under your arm and with poor choice of footwear........:rolleyes:

Looking at the pic from the opposite angle, it makes it pretty hard for me to believe that Hans van de Vorst didn't/couldn't see that rock shelf. It had to be just barely out of the frame on his pictures. Heck, curiosity alone would have made me looked to see what space between the peak and the ledge looked like even if I couldn't see it from where I was originally standing.