Death Valley heat melts skin off a man's feet after he lost his flip-flops in the dunes
Death Valley heat melts skin off a man's feet after he lost his flip-flops in the dunes
A 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the sand dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the broiling desert ground.
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.
I feel like if you go to Death Valley, in July, when we're having record-breaking temps all over the world, and you wear flip flops...look, I'm not saying anyone deserves to lose a foot just because they're making stupid choices, but maybe like, a toe. Because man, that is wildly stupid.
While I fully agree with you, for a second there I wondered what could have been proper clothing and footwear for this type of trip. I normally wear Chaco sandals in the Summer and they seem to be sturdier and more appropriate footwear for this walk and then I thought they could melt too, so... Hiking boots? Those would possibly not melt, so maybe they would have been appropriate, but I'm not sure...
A strange game, the only winning move is not to play... You don't go to Death Valley in the boiling hot summer (I myself have been in June of many years ago and it was a chillier day)
It’s Death Valley.
You want at least mid-rise hiking boots. Trail hiking shoes might be okay, except in the case you step on a rattler.
The boots aren’t full proof protection but they’re much better than a sock.
The biggest reason to go down to shoes is if you plan to be moving over boulders- it’s pretty hard to edge.
Biggest things are that they’re comfortable, sized right and sturdy enough to not fall apart. (Also? Bring lots of socks. Swapping socks frequently will help with the perspiration)
(ETA) For general clothing avoid dark or bright colors- light tan is best, wear light breathable pants and similar shirt. Id recommend avoiding cotton (it sucks for wicking,) and go with linen. I recommend long sleeves but a lot of that has to do with me having 3 shades- white, pink and burnt.
Hat and sunglasses that are comfortable.
Also? The biggest rule? Tell someone where you are going, what your route is, and when you expect to get out. I recommend checking in and out with the parks service cuz they’re gonna be the ones looking for you.
Yeah, this is akin to wearing a bikini to Antarctica.
"some folks will never lose a toe; then again some folks'll. Like Cletus the slackjawed yokel. "
Aye! What's goin' on on this side!?
Yeah even if he had the flip flop he'd still be leaving with burns when the flip flop flips and flops some sand between the shoe and his foot.
I'll say it. This dumbass deserves to lose his feet. Hell, he earned it.
Literally burned it
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.
For those of you who don’t know Fahrenheit:
123F->50.5C
170F-180F-> 77-82C
200F->93C
109F -> 43C
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.
Thank you, it all makes sense now.
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.
Group of pioneers in 1849: "This place is dangerous! Let's call it Death Valley so people know to steer clear!"
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."
was he German? they love going hiking in sandals, and then need to get rescued from mountains.
why does anyone go into the desert with flip flops?
No, the Belgian man was not German.
But he may have spoke German. I'll allow it.
Are you sure?
Humans seem to have a special mental gap when it comes to mountains. It's warm and sunny so they go up in flip-flops and tiny short shorts, but on the actual mountain it's freezing cold and often raining and they require rescuing because at some point they either fall over due to trying to wander around in what are essentially plastic slippers, or they're too cold and they can't carry on.
We know that the temperature drops as you go up and yet somehow that seems to fail to register for people.
As an American scout, it's also been funny talking to my friends years after the kind of things you take for granted. I had a friend that took a bunch of people up a moderate hike, but they wound up in what could have very easily turned into a not moderate fuck up. I've never really considered myself a "survivalist", but I was seriously in error in assuming people knew the basics.
In the 80s, and I was 7, we went to Italy and my parents and I went up Mount Etna and I was wearing flip-flops, making it pretty much impossible to walk up a bunch of lava rocks without them slipping off and cutting my feet. My parents only thought I was complaining about the walk until my mother looked down and saw my feet bleeding.
I haven't been a big fan of them since.
Sandals and flip flops are very different things for walking.
There are awesome hiking sandals that provide excellent support, grip, and all. But flip flops? Oof.
I've had the misadventure of having to do a small jungle trek with flip flops (my super duper fancy hiking shoes were soaking wet). I managed but it wasn't ideal. The Australian rainforest is not exactly flip flop friendly.
Sand = beach
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: Whatevs, I got yer shoes
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 in fucking July.
Id go in November minimum. Id prefer winter though, I want to watch the boulders migrate.
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).
People almost dying in “Death Valley”?
People die there every year. People aren't too bright sometimes.
This reminds me of the story of the German family that went on a trip to Death Valley and ended up accidentally driving up an Arroyo they thought was a road, getting stuck, and dying of dehydration after they tried to walk to safety.
If you’re going to go to a new and strange environment, make sure you get some advice from a local and don’t push yourself. Many tragedies like this are caused by people making genuine mistakes, but they can be prevented. If he’d simply asked someone if walking around Death Valley in flip flops was a good idea, he’d be fine.
I live a half hour from Death Valley, and it's not named ironically, it's a death zone. It's not really habitable for humans, you should never go alone, have full body covering clothes, heavy duty foot wear, lots of food and drink, and know how to get out from where you are at all times. It's not safe, many people still die there every year. It's just sad to me. I'm always sad to hear about anyone that dies or gets injured, we're a little isolated out here and tourists are some of the best people we regularly deal with, I love tourists. They just aren't always aware of the risks out there.
I just want to say I like the general tone of this comment. Compassionate, respectful, and warning.
I remember that! The write up by the guy who found their remains was pretty interesting.
One line really stuck out to me: ‘at that point they were in a survival situation, although they probably didn’t realize it yet.’ He really detailed out how, without making any obvious mistakes (from their perspective), they ended up in a deadly situation. From their point of view, it was situation normal… until it wasn’t.
The writeup is here, for anyone interested. I wholeheartedly recommend it, it's a fascinating story.
Also it took over a decade to find their remains if memory serves me right, because all of the initial search and rescue attempts were done be folks who would know what to do in that situation. It took a dude putting his mind in "ignorant European" mode to find the skeletons, because basically no one from the south west would think to cross a desert to go to an old military base. Half those things are abandoned why would you try that, but that aint how it works in much of Europe.
Maybe don't even go to a place called "Death Valley."
Eh, I don’t think that’s really fair.
It is a national park, and it’s huge, something like 5000 square miles of desert.
I could see the appeal for someone who has never seen a desert to want to go and see a huge desert for the first time. I could even see why they’d pick that desert: cool name, cool history, lots of beautiful mountains. I can also see why a lot of foreign people would get a false sense of security, it’s called a park, it’s in a well developed country, and it’s “maintained” by its own government agency, so surely things can’t go too wrong out there.
I’ve travelled all over the US, and have been to a lot of national parks. I always do my research about the area, get printed maps, carry a gps, and generally follow all the rules you’re supposed to. But those are American rules because this is kind of a unique country in that you can drive from a city that has everything you need to live into true wilderness where there might not be another human or even a way to contact anyone for miles, in a matter of hours. Most developed countries are not like that. So for someone who’s come from a country like Germany, or really anywhere in Europe, it really would be a culture shock to realize that there are huge sections of this country where you are on your own.
I don’t blame people for wanting to come here and see our beautiful national parks. But the amount of people I’ve seen who either don’t carry water, or just carry a small bottle from a vending machine, is insane. And I doubt those people tell anyone what their route is, or what to do if they don’t show up at a specific time.
These Germans really made some simple mistakes that any average person could, and didn’t have the education on wilderness to truly recognize they had wound up in a fight for their life. I’ve seen it happen before even in small state parks.
Wow, people really wear flipflops there? That's crazy.
Actually, going there is crazy too.
That's what I'm thinking. Even in flip flops you should notice the sand being hot and think, "maybe I shouldn't do this"
I went there in December and it was a perfect 67° F. This was especially great because we had originally come from below zero temps in Minnesota only a few days prior. In truth though Death Valley was not very exciting and I don't think I would ever bother to return.
Might seem like a stupid question but that's Fahrenheit right not Celsius? I like how in the article they unnecessarily clarify that he's talking about temperature in degrees, (a concussed duckling would be able to work that one out) but not the unit of temperature.
Correct
120f = 48c
200f = 93c
I feel like better temporary solutions could be found (than flaying your own skin on hot sand) like ripping your shirt off and tying it to your feet?
"I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and it melts your skin off."
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.
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.
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 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.
Dude is lucky he didn't get a Darwin award...
Death Valley, frequented in the summer by those looking to be in contention for the year's Darwin award.
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
Terrible fates that I'd never considered for $100.
That's the kind of shit i expect to happen in a place called death valley. I will only go if escorted by hokuto no ken
I went to Death Valley once on a tour and the minibus fell off the road. We had to open the door so that we could get some leverage so we could push it out of the small hole that it had fallen in and in the time that we had the door open the plastics on the door completely melted. We were all very hungover as well so it wasn't really a very good experience.
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?
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.
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.
Not in July at least.
If there are no relevant foot pictures in the article then it didn't happen.
I think the man currently lacks relevant feet...
I think you're some kind of deviated prevert.
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.
A more cynical way I've seen this put: we've made it too easy for stupid people to survive.
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.