For many hikers, being rescued once from a mountain you are ill-prepared to summit would be enough for one 24-hour period. But for 28-year-old Phillip Vasto it was not.
On March 2, he set out to hike to the top of 12,633-foot Humphreys Peak near Flagstaff, Arizona. Vasto, who lives in Brooklyn, was in Arizona for work when he decided to hike the state’s tallest peak. He spent some time looking at trails on phone apps and planned his route.
Life isn’t worth losing for a cool Instagram picture.
That hike did not go well. He began his hike at 2:30 pm, expecting it to take roughly 3 hours to traverse 10 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. There was snow obscuring the trail and it was slow going. Vasto became disoriented as darkness fell, so he called 911. Rescuers found him at about 10,000 feet and counseled him to try again in a few months when the snow was gone.
Instead, Vasto laced up his hikers again the next day and returned to the trailhead. This time, he got a much earlier start, showing up at 9:30 am. He joined two other hikers heading for the summit but by 3:30 or so, his fellow hikers turned back, unwilling to be caught on the mountain after dark.
Vasto pushed on. You can imagine what happened next.
He slipped off the trail, hurt his leg, and began feeling lightheaded and numb. Out came the phone, and another call to 911. A hiker passing by encountered Vasto, recognized he was in trouble, and stayed with him until SAR arrived.
“I did not know just how cold it would be to be up there at that time of year,” Vasto said. “I decided, at the very minimum, let me call somebody because that way they can at least know that I’m out here.”
SAR dispatched a helicopter this time and flew Vasto to safety. Once on the ground they sternly advised him to not try the hike again.
In Arizona, rescues are funded through taxes, so Vasto won’t see a bill.
“I highly advise NOT attempting Humphreys Peak in the winter,” he wrote on his Instagram account. “It was arguably scarier and more dangerous than Kilamanjaro at this time of year. I’m not ashamed of turning back. After all, life isn’t worth losing for a cool Instagram picture. Part of being a hiker is realizing your own human limitations and respecting the mountain and the climate.”
He clearly did not realize his own human limitations, and respected neither the mountain nor the climate. *Facepalm*
To be come a hero in life is full of obstacle,it takes the grace of God to become one.Yet you need to look after yourself and God will help you achieve your goals, good luck.
What you SHOULD be ashamed of, is your actions, not, not gaining the summit.
I have a deep and irritable history with this crap, and cell phones only make it worse.
I was working at a back country lodge some years ago, 3 hikers left the parking lot in hopes of summiting Mt. Marcy, highest peak in NY.
With them? A sandwich, a can of Pepsi, and the clothes on their backs.
Did I mention it was January? Yeah, that too.
Storm slammed into them, on the summit. Got stuck, stranded, called for help, and the DEC said, it’s snowing balls, and after dark, you’ll need to ride it out till dawn, they called the lodge. who reiterated what the DEC told them.
They were rescued the next day, a few fingers and toes were lost. but they were alive.
They sued both the DEC, and the lodge facility owners for not responding immediately. I was tasked with photo documenting all the signs they passed, warning them about being ill prepared. There were at least 15.
They lost their case, good, idiots.
Ranger pal of mine shared this more recent one.
Two guys on Gothics, which is a crazy exposure, very steep climb and or descent, either side you choose.
What were these clowns doing? Sledding down the steep sections.
Lost control. hooked a leg on a tree, and split his pelvis. Just think on that for a while.
Out came the phone, rangers were there in a few hours, but long after dark, so no helicopter. Several rangers had to construct shelter, and spend the night with someone in agonizing pain, shock, and hypothermia, because sledding the eastern equivalent of Half Dome, seemed like a great idea. So a frigid night, several innocent lives put at risk to save an idiot. he was plucked off the next day while his rescuers, slogged out under their own steam, and honestly, I hope every step he takes for the rest of his life, hurts, as a reminder to respect the outdoors for all the reality she can dish out.
Just two summers ago, woman hiking out after dark, called in a panic, she was lost. No map, just the one on her phone, no light, just the one on her phone, and the battery was almost dead.
Luckily, not too far from the lot, they found her quickly, no big deal. Gave her a talking to about getting a non electronic map, as well as a headlamp. Less than $50, and she was there for the week on vacation, so she had the money.
Next fucking day?
Repeat, identical issue, just like the moron on Humphreys here.
Honestly, I really have a hard time not letting Darwin resolve this issue for us.
“Honestly, I really have a hard time not letting Darwin resolve this issue for us.”
Word
Great summary!
I’ve got the biggest thumbs up for the last part of your comment!
I fully concur!
We’ll said!
Fellow Adirondacker here. Drives me insane. They should have to pay for the rescue. I don’t understand why we can’t institute a hike safe type card like NH has. It’s only going to get worse as time goes on. I’m better prepared when I go get my mail than most of these morons.
It’s ok yall, AZ has stupid laws, he will get slapped with the bill for both of these rescues…
Great read, and yes, they are idiots.
Let’s get Darwin involved
This made me chuckle a bit, although as a taxpayer it’s not that funny. At least he’s now a grizzled veteran:)
Years ago in an SLC bar, I met a member of the Korean Alpine Club who had recently been involved in a well-publicized rescue from a winter attempt on Mount Olympus. He was almost proud of the fame. Wow.
Here is that incident: http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13200705800/Fall-on-Snow-Climbing-Unroped-Utah-Mount-Olympus
That’s the one! The last sentence sums it up nicely; “The group is incredibly fortunate to have had three major falls in a remote location on a cold night and still escape without any fatalities.“
At least 1x every summer in Phx and/or Tucson, hikers need SAR because they do not have enough water. Sometimes these are experienced hikers/tourists from, and who hike, European Alps and who consider 6000-8000′ peaks candy….. but they do not consider the amount of H20 needed to fill their goals nor the impact of 100+ degrees on same.
That’s right! The city park hike, camelback mountain typically requires 1gallon h20 per hiker mid _
summer. Who’d think?
I also met a guy who has called for a rescue from the bottom of the Grand Canyon not once, but twice! Last I heard, he was in a legal battle because the chopper had to fly in the night from Kingman and make a risky landing in the dark only to find the dude pretty much in fine health.
I once ran out of ciggarettes on the summit of mt. Hood and called for a heli rescue.
It seemed reasonable to me.
Its a modern world we live in.
As a AZ resident, and someone who has done Humphreys year round , all I can say is what an idiot. Starting at 3pm ? Holy Shit , then trying again. Damn. Just plain dumb. AZ may pay for rescues but in this case and othered like it , he should be charged.
Most of us reading this likely spend a lot of effort to not make our recreational problems someone else’s.
“Handle your hike” is something I’ve been telling people who I think need to hear it.
Like the two young ladies in bikini tops atop a ridge looking for a waterfall at sunset, when the temps were going to drop to the 30’s.
And the family with about 4oz of Fanta between them on their way to a waterfall on a warm day.
Or the guy in flip-flops, no shirt, no hat, no water, and a 12-pack of beer headed down 3.5 miles to a waterfall at noon on a 90F day.
But there’s always people who don’t think they’ll ever be in trouble and assume there will be signs everywhere and a team of people at the ranger station just waiting to jump to attention to help anyone in need.
I state the obvious to them, so at least I tried.
Facepalm indeed.
Should have left him in the mountain the second time. Fewer folks would do dumb stuff if there were real consequences.
Life isn’t worth losing for a cool IG pic? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
I believe that in some cases, (National Parks?) when “gross negligence” can be established then victim can be charged for rescues. In California I believe that the victim’s home county pays for rescues rather than the one that they are rescued in. For example, if El Dorado County (Lake Tahoe) had to cover rescue expenses for every lost skier, etc they would quickly run out of money.
Please stay in Brooklyn and stop putting Arizona SAR employees in danger.
Vasto claims on his instagram that the first day he self-extricated and that it wasn’t a SAR.
His claim is that the tabloid that ran the story made it out to be 2 different rescues in a row.
Only mentioning in case that is the true story, and he simply thought after the first day that all he needed was more time.
Complete narcissist douche bags, all of them.
I could care less if these ill prepared, uninformed, ignorant’s lose life or limb. The sad part is they are putting others, mostly volunteers, in harms way to come save their bacon once they figure out that they are in trouble.