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Death Valley heat melts skin off a man's feet after he lost his flip-flops in the dunes (www.yahoo.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

166 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 4 months ago

Group of pioneers in 1849: "This place is dangerous! Let's call it Death Valley so people know to steer clear!"

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (1 children)

People almost dying in “Death Valley”?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

People die there every year. People aren't too bright sometimes.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (8 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (7 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

"I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and it melts your skin off."

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

Dude is lucky he didn't get a Darwin award...

[–] [email protected] 86 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Who the f enters Death Valley on flipflops?

[–] [email protected] 50 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Tourists

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 months ago (5 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (1 children)

And not go in the summer time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Why would any tourist want to visit Death Valley when it's comfortable? Extreme heat is the point.

Not that I agree.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This is kind of off topic, but I want to make sure to note that Death Valley is more than just heat! It's one of my favorite places to visit so I can't resist soapboxing a little when it comes up. I've only ever visited in the colder season, which is what most people do.

When I first visited Racetrack Playa there I laughed the whole time because it's so amazing and strange. (It's the place with rocks that leave zigzagging trails through the desert which were unexplained until pretty recently.) You can also hike the canyon where R2D2 is kidnapped in the original Star Wars, visit abandoned mining towns, climb the sand dunes, look over the valley from mountains that stay much cooler than the lower parts of the park... The variety is incredible! Highly recommend if you ever find yourself nearby when it's not too hot.