This was published 1 year ago
Kids watch as man sits on terrifying Yosemite ledge for Instagram stunt
By Stephen Heard
Half Dome sits 2695 metres above Yosemite National Park, California.Credit: iStock
A US tourist's Instagram post has gone viral, showing him dangling his legs precariously over the edge of a narrow ledge in Yosemite National Park, California.
Hawaii-based film-maker Aaron Eveland captured the footage from the top of Half Dome, a well-known crescent-shaped formation at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley.
The crest towers 2695 metres above the Californian national park.
In the footage posted to his Instagram account, Eveland can be seen straddling the ledge, inching closer to the end of the slim ledge.
The video, shot using a selfie stick, features his young children in the background.
It is accompanied by the caption: "No Half Dome summit is complete without dangling your feet. From this vantage point you can see the 'Thank God Ledge'. Years ago I climbed the Regular route and it took 2.5 days. It would be so rad to do the route again with my kids in the future. We are hopefully headed there this fall with some smaller multi-pitch climbs to tick."
The video went viral after being picked up by the @TouronsofYellowstone account, which shares questionable behaviour by visitors to the US national park. Opinions are divided on the stunt.
Half Dome can be ascended in several ways, with about 50,000 adventurers following the 13km (one-way) summit trail each year. Half Dome combines Yosemite's most iconic attraction and most prestigious hike, according to the local tourism bureau.
Hikers have been known to queue for up to an hour to access the steel cables at the final leg to the peak.
There have been an estimated 290 incidents on the rocky terrain. In 2018, three people died while taking selfies in Yosemite National Park.
According to a 2018 study from researchers associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a group of public medical colleges based in New Delhi, more than 250 people worldwide have died while taking selfies between October 2011 and November 2017.
Of the 259 deaths, researchers found the leading cause to be drowning, followed by incidents involving transportation – for example, taking a selfie in front of an oncoming train – and falling from heights. Other causes of selfie-related death include animals, firearms and electrocution.
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