On the 26th of February, 1919, the Grand Canyon in Arizona
officially became the 15th National Park of the United States of America.
The canyon - actually a gorge of the Colorado River - and the many tributary canyons which
surround it, are mostly comprised of extremely rugged and sheer terrain, although areas along
the North and South Rim have been maintained and cultivated for the purposes of tourism.
Dangers abound within the canyon itself, but even from well-maintained tourist areas on the rim it
is surprisingly common for people to fall to their death, often in ways that completely defy belief.
National Parks in America are protected areas of wilderness selected for their natural beauty,
their unique geology and ecosystems, and for the abundant opportunities for hiking, exploring,
and other recreation that they offer. The Grand Canyon National Park is among the most popular,
and is indeed considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon National Park each year,
most of them without incident. They come to see the mind-bendingly vast gorge itself,
to hike some of the many trails within it, to observe ancient rock art and geological formations
and sometimes to enjoy river rafting or helicopter flights over the canyon.
To a casual visitor the idea that someone might fall from the rim into the canyon itself can seem
absurd. The gorge is so vast, so unmissable, and so obviously hazardous that it seems only logical
that it should inspire caution in all those who venture close to it... and yet records exist of
more than 50 falls, the majority fatal, over the course of the National Park's existence.
Most of these falls occurred not in remote areas off the beaten path,
but instead at popular, busy viewing areas. Specifically because of the high number of
visitors many of the most popular sightseeing areas have been fitted with railings or walls
as well as highly-visible signs warning tourists to stay on the trails and away from the edge. To
further mitigate the danger every visitor to the National Park is given either a pamphlet
or a verbal warning describing the most prominent risks to life. Rangers patrol on a regular basis,
speaking to visitors whenever they can to curtail any dangerous behavior... and yet still,
despite all of this, falls do occur. Three causes predominate when it comes to falls from the rim.
First and foremost people tend to fall when trying to take, or pose for, striking photographs.
While death in pursuit of a selfie might seem like a relatively modern phenomenon,
the first fall of this kind occurred at a surprisingly early point in the canyon's history.
On the 22nd of March, 1925, 40-year-old Lewis W Thompson was attempting to take a picture of
himself standing on the rim of the canyon. While stepping to one side to better frame his picture
he lost his footing and plummeted to his death.
Since then dozens of other tourists have also passed away in pursuit of the perfect photograph.
Among them is 20-year-old John Eric Hastrick. On the 27th of April, 1981, Hastrick was attempting
to take a photo not of the canyon but of the Bright Angel Lodge hotel on the South Rim.
Seeking a better angle, he clambered over a guardrail and,
with his camera viewfinder glued to his eye, walked backwards towards the lip of the abyss.
He went over the edge and fell to his death before he could line up the shot he wanted.
Almost two decades later, on the 19th of August, 1999, 25-year-old Gabriel Comerford
was visiting Moran Point on the South Rim. He wanted a souvenir photo and, being alone,
asked some fellow tourists if they would help him take one.
They readily agreed, and Comerford handed them his camera. He then clambered over the guardrail,
walked out onto a narrow precipice, lost his footing, slipped down a rocky slope
and fell into the void. Not knowing what else to do, the tourist with his camera used it to
take several photographs of Comerford's final moments - not the souvenir he would have wanted.
Many other people have also fallen victim to the desire for the perfect picture on the edge of the
Grand Canyon. Despite this it is interesting to note that on almost any visit to the Grand Canyon
National Park many many visitors can be seen in almost any popular viewing area traveling
beyond the railings, clambering onto precarious ledges, or taking other incredible risks in
order to pose for pictures. The second common cause of falls from the rim is more nebulous,
but relates to the sheer scale of the canyon. Numerous reports exist of visitors being overcome
with dizziness or a sense of vertigo when sitting on the canyon edge. One striking incident of
this type took place on the 9th of March, 1989. 34-year-old tourist Gesela Elixmann took a seat
on the very edge of the canyon at Mojave Point on the South Rim, and enjoyed the spectacular view.
When she tried to stand and move away from the edge, however, she was overcome with
dizziness and fell to her death. Just three days later the same thing happened again.
21-year-old tourist Yuri Nagata was visiting the West Rim's Second Trailview Overlook as
part of a group tour. As they arrived at the viewing area the tour group leader
addressed the group, telling them of the terrible incident involving Elixmann.
Nagata dutifully listened to this cautionary tale and then immediately walked to the railing,
crossed it, and took a seat on the rim of the canyon. When one of her friends asked
her to stand and pose for a picture she, just like Elixmann, lost her balance and fell into the void.
While two identical incidents taking place so close together is rare,
the story echoes throughout the history of the canyon. Before Nagata and Elixmann there was
21-year-old Elizabeth Hazelhurst who, in 1971, sat on the rim of the canyon with friends and
fatally lost her balance when she tried to stand. Before her there was 17-year-old Herbert E Kolb
who, in 1947, died in exactly the same manner after watching the sunset from the rim with his
girlfriend. In each case the victim took what they perceived to be a small risk: they sat on the edge
of the canyon to take in the view - the very last view they would ever see. Thirdly, and finally,
a small but significant number of falls have been caused by, quite simply, the desire to show off.
On the 28th of November, 1992,
38-year-old Greg Austin Gingrich was visiting the park with his family. The group were hiking along
the South Rim when Gingrich saw an opportunity to play a practical joke on his teenage daughter.
He planned to clamber up onto the low stone wall that separated the path from the canyon edge,
then pretend to lose his balance and tumble off towards the void.
He would then hop down onto a ledge on the other side of the wall
and hunker there for a moment or two - just long enough to give his daughter a fright - before
popping back up and revealing himself to be unharmed. His prank didn't go to plan.
The moment Gingrich landed on the ledge he lost his footing and toppled over into the
canyon proper. He dropped without making a sound, perhaps too shocked by his fatal miscalculation
to even cry out as he fell. The target of his practical joke - his teenage daughter - was used
to her father playing tricks on her. Unaware that he had actually fallen she carried on up the path,
expecting him to follow as soon as he saw that his joke hadn't landed.
She had walked all the way to the car park and met up with the rest of their group
before she realized that anything was truly amiss. It would be past nightfall before a search and
rescue team would find Gingrich's body and fully confirm that his final prank really had gone
too far. Similarly showing off may have been a factor in another death on the 8th of September,
1993. 51-year-old James Merriman was a Flagstaff resident who periodically rode his bicycle
out to the Grand Canyon in order to crawl through the railings at popular tourist spots
and gather coins from ledges, where tourists would throw them for good luck.
Merriman would often camp in the canyon during these coin-collecting expeditions,
and was known to park rangers. Indeed, just a week before they had been called to rescue him
when he got into difficulty and became stuck on a ledge while gathering coins.
This incident, it appears, did not deter Merriman from his money-making scheme.
On the 8th of September he visited Mather Point on the South Rim. Having clambered out past
the railing and gathered some coins he found that he had a spellbound audience of tourists.
Confident in his abilities, Merriman began jumping back and forth between two rocks,
inviting the watching crowd to take his picture. His final words were, simply,
"Watch me!" No sooner had he uttered them than he lost his footing and plunged to his death.
Again these are just a few incidents from a catalogue of many.
Numerous unfortunate souls - the vast majority young and male - have suffered fatal falls while
demonstrating their nerve and sure-footedness on the edge of one of the largest chasms on earth.
While it may seem improbable that anyone should fall into the Grand Canyon when the danger posed
by it is so evident, it can and does happen. It is easy to decry the victims of these incidents as
foolish, and to lament their lack of sense... but it is also important to remember that their lives
were cut short by a simple lapse of judgment - a momentary misunderstanding or failure to
appreciate the danger before them. In each case it was a brief and terrible miscalculation,
made in a matter of seconds, the consequences of which consumed the entire rest of their lives.