I know, but many with little experience consider it as “what? It’s just walking. I can walk and it’s not THAT far.” They don’t realize how easy it is to miscalculate their supplies or their levels, or if the weather or terrain are bad, injuries, etc. And the fact that people can often take many risks in life before they hit one that goes bad for them - makes some think “I am good at managing risks.., it was always fine and will be fine again.”
I grew up on Florida waters literally, so I thought I knew it all. I was a commercial fisher etc. Tennessee rivers and streams darn near killed me a few times so yea I urge all people to humble themselves to those who do know what they are doing. Learn! Ignorance is worst enemy of prideful idiots like I was. My son had to put himself in danger to save me and thats when I really realized I was a fool.
This is a pattern with these types of stories though--less experienced person puts their trust in the experienced person (which makes sense but turns out to be a bad idea). An experienced person should have never put the casual in that situation...a four hour scramble up a rock face with loose rocks at the top!? ...not great guidance, man.
I was on one of the search teams for that search, there were lots of searchers not just Park rangers, I remember a lot of low cloud , we were flown in to one of the huts to check the log book and search the track to the hut, which we did find some sign of them on the track. It's quite common for police to fly family over a search area to show them the extent of the search and what kind of terrain searchers have been dealing with, it's not that the pilot felt sorry for them. It was good to be at base when they were flown back in, made the whole thing seem worth it. Thanks for jogging my memory, seems like a long time ago.
I’ve been long distant hiking for 40 years, but still never cease to be amazed at people’s flippant attitudes. They made almost every mistake possible. They weren’t ready for that terrain, they didn’t carry sufficient clothing, had no emergency supply of food, had no emergency shelter. The South Island of NZ rains almost constantly, yet they weren’t ready for that! They simply should never have began a climb they didn’t know for sure they could make. So glad it all ended well though. When are people going to learn??
Correction: the West Coast rains almost relentlessly- the mountains so close by to the coast pretty much act like a strainer when a wet sponge is pressed against it. The rest of the South Island is quite variable with Central Otago missing out of that rain whereas the East Coast is somewhat temperate- meh we still get floods and droughts there too.👍
@@Therecanbeonly123literally, Canterbury is clear skies even when there is a chaotic storm over the Alps. By the time it reaches Malvern Hills, it's mild.
Yes - climbing into unknown terrain is a big no no. You can easily get up someplace from which you can't get down again. It even happens to experienced mountain climbers: I once heard a lecture from Reinhold Messner where he told that he got himself into a situation like this when climbing with his son. Those two got out of it, but they didn't do any of all the other mistakes that the women did, and also one was one of the most experienced climbers that still live.
Completely agree. having being rescued by helicopter once because of underestimating terrain. Well not so much rescued but picked up after deciding not to brave a track on the way out we had walked in on. $400 for a 10 min ride in a chopper best money I've ever spent.
@@Mary-momof8 My god we were on high for a week after that. stiff sore and cover in bruises. Now you can mountain bike the same trail. But it wasn't like that when we did it.
Sonya saying that if it wasn't for Marnie she probably wouldn't be here today. Well, if it wasn't for Marnie Sonya wouldn't have been in that position in the first place.
I promise you that over ten days they slept. It may not have been for long periods, and it may not have been noticable to them, but they did not go for ten days straight without any sleep.
So many lessons in this fiasco. No one knew their route, they had no means of communication, they continued to climb when it was looking dicey...so many mistakes. It's a miracle they were found.
For me: Rule #1 - If I climb up or descend, how do I get back? If unknown, then I don't do it. Rule #2 - Know my limitations. Rule #3 - Be prepared including the possibility of needing to spend the night and face inclement weather. Rule #4: Interview potential hiking partners to make sure we're on the same page with everything.
What, an incredible story. Thank you for stating the precautions and reminders at the end, like you did. Rest in peace Marnie, your contributions and accomplishments, should have taken you farther.
She was clearly" on the wrong track " with her career choice...gave it away. She could have made a great outdoors worker ... In the mountains and bush as a professional in many high end areas of study and pursuits...or as a guide.. or track worker...etcs . Many who do this stuff have wonderful lives paid to work exactly in the areas they deeply love.. Bless her..she certainly loved nature..and that love will be intricately part of that serenity as one .. without doubt ...she went to her peaceful place and joined as a plan I would say..... in that collective area of peace.... a beautiful thing I would say... her mind greatly appreciated the finest aspects of nature ...and so wasn't leaving only becoming a greater part of her most loved place of earthly life ... Aroha Marine always...
it felt like they were climbing onto a ridge and could follow the ridge and eventually meet the original route without a steep descent i think. Having climbed in the alps and Alaska I'm well aware scale can be confusing. Things are often much bigger. Still they made some real bad decisions and boxed themselves in but I can see how it happens
After 4 or 5 days of no sleep in cold and wet conditions, my brain would have convinced me that I had grown wings and would have had me leap out to get away from the situation.
I've gone just 3 days AT HOME, in my own house with no sleep and I was hallucinating although I KNEW I was hallucinating, somehow drove myself to the hospital, just to get something to knock my axx out. It's scary as heck. Happened again years later but that time called the cops and had them take me to the hospital. I can't imagine having to make a decision to save my life in that condition.
Oh my! I actually live off the main highway to Arthur's Pass and didn't know about this one! West Coast of NZ is notoriously bad for the worst storms in the country. We get snow here from the storms over Arthur's Pass. I spend a lot of time in Castlehill and Porter's Pass. The weather changes very quickly even where I live which isn't far from the foothills of the Alps.
I made a stupid error once and tried to take a short cut which looked like an easy climb. Halfway up I couldn't climb an overhanging ledge and I remember the panic when I realised how stupid I'd been. I managed to climb down, which was harder than going up because you can't see the footholds. Nobody knew I was there. I learned a valuable lesson.
Yikes! I tramped the same trail (Harman Pass) ten months before in February 2004 and it remains the toughest I've ever done - and I climbed Kilimanjaro just 3 months before! It was my first time in New Zealand and, hiking alone, Harman Pass turned out to be a gorgeous but rigorous 55km route: from Arthur's Pass up and over Avalanche Peak then down the Crow River to Crow Hut (day 1), down the Crow River, across and up the Waimakariri River to Carrington Hut (day 2), up the Taipoiti River, over the ridge and down the Taipo River to Julia Hut (day 3), down the Taipo River to Dillon Hut (day 4), up and over the Kelly Range to Carroll Hut (day 5), and finally downhill to the main highway to hitch-hike back to Arthur's Pass (day 6). The Taipoiti River where these ladies were trapped runs through a rocky gorge. It was still full of snow when I hiked there in late summer (February) and had to dodge rockfalls every 5-10 minutes while ascending to the ridge. I admire their tenacity under those conditions as I would have returned to relax at Carrington Hut instead of attempting to climb that canyon were it blocked with ice. In hindsight, I don't recommend multi-day solo hikes on little used trails. Being Canadian and having spent four years in the Rockies, I thought that I was prepared for mountain weather but New Zealand has rain and wind like you wouldn't believe. My hiking boots survived a summer on the Appalachian Trail and climbing Kilimanjaro but fell apart on my first day in New Zealand while descending a scree slope on Avalanche Peak (fortunately, I had a sewing kit to make repairs). Apart from the steep but well-worn trail up Avalanche Peak, Harman Pass is not a marked, maintained track but rather an unmaintained and sometimes hard-to-follow route (if you don't know, a "route" in New Zealand doesn't mean a marked trail but, rather, it just means someone managed to walk that way once before). Though there was usually a visible path, I often had to find my own way and if there wasn't a bridge then crossing rivers frequently meant getting my feet wet - sometimes wading up to my waist in frigid, fast moving water. The huts were outstanding (Julia Hut and Carroll Hut were decrepit at the time but have likely been repaired or replaced since) but this route is not recommended for new hikers to attempt in only 3 days.
Marni dying out homeless and probably mental health issues is extremely sad. She left behind so much knowledge and research. I wish she could have been helped. RIP to Marni Sheppard.
One mistake after another. 1. When off trail, don’t go up that you can’t go down. 2. When in a jam, treat food as if it is scarce. 3. Don’t drink if you don’t know the rescue plan.
Oh Lord, I leaned this lesson. It was at Dungeon Ghyll in the Lake District, England. The hike lured us gradually in and up. I felt very capable but was not prepared for what lay ahead. I ended up faced with a chock-stone, 70 m vertically up from the ground. I knew I couldn't retrace my way down so ended up dangling from the overhang, pulling myself up by my arm strength. From then on I had a choice.. go left, as advised or wedge myself and manoeuvre up the 'chimney'. Left looked impossible so I chose the chimney. Rocks the size of shoe boxes were just pulling out and crashing down. If I'd stopped, I'd have slipped down. There is a gap in my memory for the next half hour until I sat upon the ridge like on a horses back with death drops either side. I shimmied along and gradually reached safety. The 3 guys I was with eventually met me up there. We ran the scree down, straight into a small lake where a woman was swimming with her dog and then onto the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub. These routes are like Sirens ... they can lure you gradually until you are in a critical situation. Please notice when you feel super confident and remember this true tale. 😊
Why couldn’t you retrace your way back down? Was it too steep or complicated? Also, when you went up the trail you knew you couldn’t back out of, didn’t you feel like maybe you shouldn’t go?
@@BlackSeranna Hi, yes it seemed easy enough to start with. I knew people who had completed the ascent this way and felt equally capable. At the point where I realised I should come back down, it was too steep to see where my feet could go. Apparently, the route to the left is actually quite do-able but the correct trail was overgrown with bracken and looked impossible as a result. In hindsight, I was reckless and was very lucky to have got away with it. When I saw the chimney, my first idea was that I could wedge myself there and hopefully be rescued but inch by inch I worked my way up. There are youtube videos of this place if you'd like to see it, it's Dungeon Ghyll, in the Lake District. I did a stupid thing that day for sure.
I was there as it was my stag night before getting married at the end of August. I still have nightmares about seeing Si's legs dangling from the chock stone at the top of the chimney. In the absence of my now wife or any other women I was in charge as I had climbed that route a couple of times. I had let the party get separated while helping the less capable members over come their fear at being out of their comfort zone. I will always be grateful that its just a scary memory and guilt which would haunt me for the rest of my life. What doesn't kill us makes strong and wiser, I hope.
@@stuartharper1193 Oh man, it was a hairy one! 😳 Have to take issue with your idea of us, ( me) being less capable though! The route to the left was for the less capable. As Dirty Harry said, ' It's good for a man to know his limits', or something like that😚
@@Smeegheed1963the route you took was strictly for all time legendary superheroes only, obviously I have done 3 times. Fitz was the one not able cope with the sheep shit 6:15 .
What a way to hear of an old friends passing. Marne and I used to climb and tramp together in the late 90's when we both lived in Wanaka. Last time I saw her was boxing day 2004. She was hut warden at French ridge. She was incredibly intelligent. A genius. To the point where I'm not surprised to learn of her mental illness later in life. All you keyboard warriors need to know is that she was mortified by what happened in this story. Everyone makes mistakes. 😢
I remember attempting this route many years ago from the West Coast side. We stayed at a Harman Hutt the first night but snow came in quite low so decided to turn back. It was mid January, our mid summer. As stated, the weather in the Southern Alps is unpredictable in all seasons. This is not a route you would undertake for your first walk in the mountains!
The string of decisions here in this story are mind boggling but it seems like such is always the case in the stories presented on this channel. The very obvious choice was to turn the hell around back to the hut, amazing that they chose option B instead. EDIT: The "Aftermath" now explains unfortunately what made little sense about the whole ordeal. Very unfortunate deal.
@@xisigma I believe so too. I had originally commented before I got to the end but once I watched the "Aftermath" part that's exactly where my thoughts led me. Sonia had no idea who she was trusting her life to.
Also drinking wine because they believed that was going to be the day they were going to be found, ONLY because one of them was expected back, completely disregarding the vast extense of the area/search…. Of course they were not going to be found right away. So so so dumb
signaling devices are crucial in any pack.... mirrors, strobes, and even flares..... paracord doesnt take up much room and you can use it for climbing or descending if you use prusik knots with a tag end to use as descenders....
The good thing about hiking in NZ is there are no dangerous animals that will attack or eat you. Just stick to easy or moderate trails and always be prepared with provisions & warm clothes cuz the weather changes on a dime, you'll be ok!
One of the best narratives, and I know this area well. Marnie died while attempting the Waimakariri Col crossing into the Rolleston River - a long hike on the last day through untracked rugged country. I hope she didn't suffer too much.
As a NZer I completely understand the want to hike in the national parks and high country, but think people forget how dangerous and ISOLATED it is. The bush can be so dense it can be very hard to be found, much less so if you have no survival knowledge. PLEASE hire a personal locator beacon - they are hired out by many places in both North and South islands, and could be the difference between life and death!
I can't get enough of your awesomeness....that voce! your amazing storytelling! Don't worry--I pose no threat being a 68 year old lady suffering osteoarthritis in my lower back. lol. Awesome video.
There you go again!!!!....Another incredible video!!! What a story, and as always you tell it with absolute narration perfection! One knows this quality by how many gasps, tears, OMGs are spoken while watching !!! And I have done all several times while watching this one. Thanks again for my weekly OD Fix!!! This one may last awhile!!!!
Love hiking the Santa Monica mountains, Ojai, Los Padres National forest and all the beautiful state parks we have here in CA. I hike alone and I make sure I always have phone signal, lots of water and snacks with me. I respect my limits and 😊also know when it’s time to stop and go back. I hike on trails and avoid difficult terrain and bad weather. I hope people stay safe out there. Peace✌️.
Yikes: it was an accident waiting to happen. You always take extra rations and emergency warm clothing and a bivvy bag, all available in ultralight versions., not to mention a SPOT locator. And why didn't they have a Jetboil or other small stove? Insane. There's no such thing as 'a simple 3 day hiking trip in the mountains'. They were very lucky to survive.
Marni Sheppeard came to a sticky end in Arthur's Pass National Park, on Mt Rolleston if memory serves correctly. This happened in February of 2021, again IIRC but it took a few weeks to find her body. She was a reckless hiker who didn't understand her own limits and had no interest in the limits of Ms Rendell.
Sounds about right, but not just reckless - also senseless in the effort SAR teams have to spend on poor decision-makers and sort of mountain egotrip like hers.
Breaks her ankle falling into a crevasse in Europe then leads her friend on disaster hike/climb. Maybe your judgement and instincts in the mountains isn't what you think it is. Classic "I'm experienced so this is fine" until you realize you can't back track and get stuck. This isn't even "it could happen to anyone", no you went free soloing up a cliff you couldn't down climb, just dumb.
Like so many of these situations, there is one main rule: DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH FANATICS WITH A ‘PASSION’ FOR OUTDOORS: they always seem to value that passion more than you. Reckless with your life they will be. Often they will find a way to save themselves though.
They weren't going to return this way, they were hiking through to another destination and the expectation was there would be an easier track down on the other side of the summit.
I would have done an about-face at that massive sheet of ice. Sonya wanted to get her mind off the breakup with her boyfriend. I'm pretty sure at least that was accomplished. After needing rescue twice, I see Marni died a few years ago on another mountain hike after a third search-and-rescue effort failed. Seems she had mental issues. That's sad.
They absolutely lost me at “drank a bottle of wine because of their intense thirst” brooo why the fuck would drinking even be something they would consider
There is an old strategy to decide if something is a good idea, if trying to make decisions in an emergency with incomplete information. It involves running thru all the options that you hope are true (we can find a road over that hill, we can climb this cliff above snow) and ask “and what if I am wrong/that assumption is wrong? “. If the answer is “and then we probably die”….it’s usually best to try another option, or at least the one where death is less certain. In this case, the best option would be to turn around at the snow impasse, as if they got weak or injured on the trail back, they would be easier to find by rescuers, could make a fire or one could go on to get help if the other could not.
Yeah, and This Very process- "if my Decision & Hope is wrong... i d¡e... Then this decision is No Good... iF there are other ones: like Don't Start Up... Take gear, Plan for Cold, Take Plb etc. Starting BEFORE you Start Out... is what People just can't seem to Do!??!
A 3 day hikes thru wilderness, involving off trails, climbing, crevasses, snow, etc., is not a simple hike. It was about ego and not trusting instinct.
Marnie said there was bad weather coming predicted in one day. Their hike was a 3-day hike. They should have turned around right then and there. And what Marnie put Sonya through was extremely irresponsible.
I've known people like that, experienced outdoors-types who take less experienced people out into dangerous areas. It happened to me once, but I got out of it OK.
I went on a winter backpacking trip with a friend, who was a champion on the Alaskan ski racing team and grew up in an Inuit village. She had sense and exoerience w cold weather and wilderness. Her flighty, histrionic roommate begged to go. We said absolutely not. We refused to give in. Thank God, because we got caught in an ice storm at 11,500 ft, and she got high altitude cerebral edema and was hallucinating and vomiting. We barely survived the night. We were only 6 miles from the trail head, and the temptation to try to make a run for it in the dark would have probably sent that flightly roommate to her death. We knew not to move until daylight. Even then, it was a lot to get her down to an altitude where she could recover. We had olenty of gear and even then, we had to put one sleeping bag inside the other and both of us crammed in, wearing our winter gear. Our bags were rated for -30°F. We had a tent, too, and our breath and her the moisture from her throwing up cause an inch of ice on the inside of the tent . The wind was so fierce we could hardly get the tent up (we had a backup tent, also). Even once we got down to a lower altitudez when we rested on a beach by a lake, I discovered we were lying next to a deer stashed there by a mountain lion.😂 We quickly moved. After we recovered, we hiked back to the car, throwing our sodden gear into a trash can. We were so so grateful we had held to our boundaries concerning her roommate. She would have panicked and caused her own death and likely ours. The edge between life and death was very thin on that trip.
Remember when a woman got a terrible premonition in a trail, and didn't want to continue. Her boyfriend mocked her for this irrational feeling and insisted on continuing. She went on, reluctabtly. Pay attention to intuition! They rounded a curve and he was attacked and killed by a bear on a crowded trail, in front of everyone.
Getting close to 100k Congratulations 🎊 This story sounds familiar but its been awhile since heard it. I am always astounded how so many underprepare for being on adventures outside never expectations of anything going wrong.
Paradigm change when ice turned trip from hiking to mountaineering. Climbed myself into an equivalent potential dilemma, got lucky got out. Easy to lose your mental horizon in the wilderness, off your home turf and certainties. Peace to all and families and friends. Thanks to searchers. 🙃
Let me see: A team that hardly knows each other, one totally inexperienced, one recovering from an injury. Trying to 'outrun' the forecast bad weather. Not turning back when facing clearly adverse and forbidding conditions of the trail. Then to top it all off: Climbing up into unknown terrain with neither climbing experience nor climbing gear. And doing all that without any of the emergency shelter and comms equipment or any other emergency gear that one might want to carry. So it takes a lot to get yourself into a situation like this - not just one bad decision, but a whole string.
This reminds me so much of the event which included Mark Inglis, (and his mate Phil Doole (?) happened November??? 1982, he is married to a friend of mine. Thank heavens they were safe
20:04 What is up with that? She’s kept one of the highest paid jobs there is for over a decade in a wealthy nation, and somehow ends up homeless? This woman seriously needed to get some help with her mental health. It’s sad that society will just sit there and act like her lifestyle wasn’t a serious red flag in terms of psychological state. She looks out of her mind in that last photo.
A great video, what a story! But they were incredibly lucky - I’ve twice been to Arthur’s Pass although I’m from the U.K. and the thought of hiking there in winter without proper equipment is dumbfounding. One woman had no experience and the other had no common sense. A shame that after all that, Marnie had to die in the same place they were rescued from, prematurely.
Goodness, I guess the lessons are: Always leave an overview of your route with the homefront, Always have a communication device, Never leave the trail and know your limits and the limits of your hiking partners. Personally I know my skills only include a hike when there is an actual path to walk on 😅 These girls were so lucky to be found and got out alive! Very tragic to hear what turns life took for one of them later 😔 But I guess in the end she died in the only place that would proved her some mental comfort.
lesson: don't follow mentally unstable people into the wilderness. right before you said what happened to her, I said to myself. "I bet she's going to get lost and die out in the forest".... you can't save some people.
I wonder if the hikers realistically take in the distance and terrain for such a hike. I did a four mile hike near Tucson, AZ to a water fall in the summer. I had plenty of water but by the time I made it back it had turned into an eight mile hike and I was exhausted and had blisters on my feet.
How on earth does an experienced hiker/climber not bring warm waterproof clothes and tell her friend to do the same? My hubby and I take super warm clothes and gear on day hikes for Pete's sake. You just don't go in the mountains without it.
Ol' Marni kind of sounds like a jerk. She says she will definitely be more careful about who she takes with her, when she was the cause of the whole problem, not her partner. And to prove it, she got lost again. Psychosis is a terrible thing.
“Rapidly changing weather conditions” worldwide people are saying “if you don’t like the weather it will change soon”, where they live, but it’s the same in every place on earth! So why would anyone ever want to climb a steep cliff?? And if they keep doing it, someday they will be sorry! Everyone should listen to these and maybe they will stop doing it. It’s great to listen to these stories because it makes you happy that you stopped before it was too late! Haha. And if they keep going on steep dangerous climbs and it happens, I have no pity for them.
I couldn't finish this story. The sheer stupidity of these two women pissed me off. Especially when there are people in the world not taking a chance with their life, much less someone else's life that are fighting for their life.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
No experience but straight to a 3 day hike through some insane areas...sounds like an outstanding idea!
I know, but many with little experience consider it as “what? It’s just walking. I can walk and it’s not THAT far.”
They don’t realize how easy it is to miscalculate their supplies or their levels, or if the weather or terrain are bad, injuries, etc.
And the fact that people can often take many risks in life before they hit one that goes bad for them - makes some think “I am good at managing risks.., it was always fine and will be fine again.”
I grew up on Florida waters literally, so I thought I knew it all. I was a commercial fisher etc. Tennessee rivers and streams darn near killed me a few times so yea I urge all people to humble themselves to those who do know what they are doing. Learn! Ignorance is worst enemy of prideful idiots like I was. My son had to put himself in danger to save me and thats when I really realized I was a fool.
Brought to you by the same people who ALREADY needed emergency extraction by rescue services at least once before ☕️🙃
This is a pattern with these types of stories though--less experienced person puts their trust in the experienced person (which makes sense but turns out to be a bad idea). An experienced person should have never put the casual in that situation...a four hour scramble up a rock face with loose rocks at the top!? ...not great guidance, man.
Marnie was an experienced mountaineer but had poor judgement and shakey mental health.
I was on one of the search teams for that search, there were lots of searchers not just Park rangers, I remember a lot of low cloud , we were flown in to one of the huts to check the log book and search the track to the hut, which we did find some sign of them on the track. It's quite common for police to fly family over a search area to show them the extent of the search and what kind of terrain searchers have been dealing with, it's not that the pilot felt sorry for them. It was good to be at base when they were flown back in, made the whole thing seem worth it. Thanks for jogging my memory, seems like a long time ago.
Ta, chur 🙃
So you'd be aware that Ms Sheppeard died nearly four years ago in the Mt Rolleston region then?
@@annakeye Yes , I think I remember hearing that, I don't remember the details though.
I’ve been long distant hiking for 40 years, but still never cease to be amazed at people’s flippant attitudes. They made almost every mistake possible. They weren’t ready for that terrain, they didn’t carry sufficient clothing, had no emergency supply of food, had no emergency shelter. The South Island of NZ rains almost constantly, yet they weren’t ready for that! They simply should never have began a climb they didn’t know for sure they could make. So glad it all ended well though. When are people going to learn??
Spot on!
University. Too much theory.
Correction: the West Coast rains almost relentlessly- the mountains so close by to the coast pretty much act like a strainer when a wet sponge is pressed against it. The rest of the South Island is quite variable with Central Otago missing out of that rain whereas the East Coast is somewhat temperate- meh we still get floods and droughts there too.👍
@@Therecanbeonly123literally, Canterbury is clear skies even when there is a chaotic storm over the Alps. By the time it reaches Malvern Hills, it's mild.
Yes - climbing into unknown terrain is a big no no. You can easily get up someplace from which you can't get down again. It even happens to experienced mountain climbers: I once heard a lecture from Reinhold Messner where he told that he got himself into a situation like this when climbing with his son. Those two got out of it, but they didn't do any of all the other mistakes that the women did, and also one was one of the most experienced climbers that still live.
This is why I hike trails. I'll leave the climbing to the experts. Nature is stunning!
It also, doesn't suffer fools.
Completely agree. having being rescued by helicopter once because of underestimating terrain. Well not so much rescued but picked up after deciding not to brave a track on the way out we had walked in on. $400 for a 10 min ride in a chopper best money I've ever spent.
@ranter7100 😆😆😆 Glad you're safe for another hike!!
@@Mary-momof8 My god we were on high for a week after that. stiff sore and cover in bruises. Now you can mountain bike the same trail. But it wasn't like that when we did it.
@ranter7100 😲😲😲 I wish I had the knees and stamina for mountain biking. Looks like a blast!!
Sonya saying that if it wasn't for Marnie she probably wouldn't be here today. Well, if it wasn't for Marnie Sonya wouldn't have been in that position in the first place.
EXACTLY !
True. She was not in a position to lead anyone. @@theScotian24
Exactly my thoughts
No, she had free will to make up her own mind. No one forced her to go along.
I get a strong feeling that Marni chose those mountains as her last resting place. May she rest in peace.
After doing graduate degree in physics? Nah. She had big plans!
Yes, I agree. seemed she had a troubled life later on.
What about the taxpayers who had to pay for the search for her, which eventually located her remains? I'd say she was a selfish twat.
Exactly what I thought❤️
Communication devices are a NECESSITY !
👍👍👍👍
EPIRB's should always be taken when tramping/hiking in NZ
I promise you that over ten days they slept. It may not have been for long periods, and it may not have been noticable to them, but they did not go for ten days straight without any sleep.
Correct.
Yes, micro sleep. I have been there. Not on a mountain though
So many lessons in this fiasco. No one knew their route, they had no means of communication, they continued to climb when it was looking dicey...so many mistakes. It's a miracle they were found.
n ignored the bad weather warning, didn't have enough food, no bivvy equipment, didnt have enough warm clothing.
For me: Rule #1 - If I climb up or descend, how do I get back? If unknown, then I don't do it. Rule #2 - Know my limitations. Rule #3 - Be prepared including the possibility of needing to spend the night and face inclement weather. Rule #4: Interview potential hiking partners to make sure we're on the same page with everything.
Rule #5 how much pain will I be in after?
Were you parted from your money when you were a fool?
What, an incredible story. Thank you for stating the precautions and reminders at the end, like you did.
Rest in peace Marnie, your contributions and accomplishments, should have taken you farther.
She was clearly" on the wrong track " with her career choice...gave it away. She could have made a great outdoors worker ... In the mountains and bush as a professional in many high end areas of study and pursuits...or as a guide.. or track worker...etcs . Many who do this stuff have wonderful lives paid to work exactly in the areas they deeply love..
Bless her..she certainly loved nature..and that love will be intricately part of that serenity as one .. without doubt ...she went to her peaceful place and joined as a plan I would say..... in that collective area of peace.... a beautiful thing I would say... her mind greatly appreciated the finest aspects of nature ...and so wasn't leaving only becoming a greater part of her most loved place of earthly life ...
Aroha Marine always...
I don’t understand the logic of keep going up when eventually they have to descend at some point. Summit fever strikes again
it felt like they were climbing onto a ridge and could follow the ridge and eventually meet the original route without a steep descent i think. Having climbed in the alps and Alaska I'm well aware scale can be confusing. Things are often much bigger. Still they made some real bad decisions and boxed themselves in but I can see how it happens
Stupidity strikes again and again
After 4 or 5 days of no sleep in cold and wet conditions, my brain would have convinced me that I had grown wings and would have had me leap out to get away from the situation.
I've gone just 3 days AT HOME, in my own house with no sleep and I was hallucinating although I KNEW I was hallucinating, somehow drove myself to the hospital, just to get something to knock my axx out. It's scary as heck. Happened again years later but that time called the cops and had them take me to the hospital. I can't imagine having to make a decision to save my life in that condition.
@@jamierupert7563That’s scary. Glad ur ok. What caused the insomnia and what helped you sleep?
Thank you, my favorite voice guy lol love you all 🫶🏼🙏😊
You freaking rock!! Thank you thank you thank you! You support means so much!
@@outdoordisasters my pleasure 😇 and thank YOU
Oh my! I actually live off the main highway to Arthur's Pass and didn't know about this one! West Coast of NZ is notoriously bad for the worst storms in the country. We get snow here from the storms over Arthur's Pass. I spend a lot of time in Castlehill and Porter's Pass. The weather changes very quickly even where I live which isn't far from the foothills of the Alps.
The most trust I have with a new friend is coffee.
And don’t turn your back on the cup.
👏🏽💯💯💯💯
Wonderful life lesson to be learned at the end. I never go beyond my boundaries.
I made a stupid error once and tried to take a short cut which looked like an easy climb. Halfway up I couldn't climb an overhanging ledge and I remember the panic when I realised how stupid I'd been. I managed to climb down, which was harder than going up because you can't see the footholds. Nobody knew I was there. I learned a valuable lesson.
Yikes! I tramped the same trail (Harman Pass) ten months before in February 2004 and it remains the toughest I've ever done - and I climbed Kilimanjaro just 3 months before!
It was my first time in New Zealand and, hiking alone, Harman Pass turned out to be a gorgeous but rigorous 55km route: from Arthur's Pass up and over Avalanche Peak then down the Crow River to Crow Hut (day 1), down the Crow River, across and up the Waimakariri River to Carrington Hut (day 2), up the Taipoiti River, over the ridge and down the Taipo River to Julia Hut (day 3), down the Taipo River to Dillon Hut (day 4), up and over the Kelly Range to Carroll Hut (day 5), and finally downhill to the main highway to hitch-hike back to Arthur's Pass (day 6).
The Taipoiti River where these ladies were trapped runs through a rocky gorge. It was still full of snow when I hiked there in late summer (February) and had to dodge rockfalls every 5-10 minutes while ascending to the ridge. I admire their tenacity under those conditions as I would have returned to relax at Carrington Hut instead of attempting to climb that canyon were it blocked with ice.
In hindsight, I don't recommend multi-day solo hikes on little used trails. Being Canadian and having spent four years in the Rockies, I thought that I was prepared for mountain weather but New Zealand has rain and wind like you wouldn't believe. My hiking boots survived a summer on the Appalachian Trail and climbing Kilimanjaro but fell apart on my first day in New Zealand while descending a scree slope on Avalanche Peak (fortunately, I had a sewing kit to make repairs). Apart from the steep but well-worn trail up Avalanche Peak, Harman Pass is not a marked, maintained track but rather an unmaintained and sometimes hard-to-follow route (if you don't know, a "route" in New Zealand doesn't mean a marked trail but, rather, it just means someone managed to walk that way once before). Though there was usually a visible path, I often had to find my own way and if there wasn't a bridge then crossing rivers frequently meant getting my feet wet - sometimes wading up to my waist in frigid, fast moving water. The huts were outstanding (Julia Hut and Carroll Hut were decrepit at the time but have likely been repaired or replaced since) but this route is not recommended for new hikers to attempt in only 3 days.
Marni dying out homeless and probably mental health issues is extremely sad. She left behind so much knowledge and research. I wish she could have been helped. RIP to Marni Sheppard.
Physics the the hardest and least popular college major. Marnie was brilliant, but just couldn't find her place in life.
@@xisigma and yet had a lack of common sense. Nutcase really.
A complete nut. One you would push off the edge of a cliff. She would have ended up killing a normal person.
There's a fine line between genius and insanity, as the saying goes
I don't want narration only videos.....I really enjoy the photos!! Your channel is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I’ve been watching your site and sharing it for a while now.
EXCELLENT site.
One mistake after another. 1. When off trail, don’t go up that you can’t go down. 2. When in a jam, treat food as if it is scarce. 3. Don’t drink if you don’t know the rescue plan.
Given all the assumed decisions Marnie made I wonder just how seasoned was she? Some of those mistakes were rookie errors.
On a visit to NZ, we drove through that area. I remember it as being terrifically rugged and beautiful. NZ is amazing.
Oh Lord, I leaned this lesson. It was at Dungeon Ghyll in the Lake District, England. The hike lured us gradually in and up. I felt very capable but was not prepared for what lay ahead. I ended up faced with a chock-stone, 70 m vertically up from the ground. I knew I couldn't retrace my way down so ended up dangling from the overhang, pulling myself up by my arm strength. From then on I had a choice.. go left, as advised or wedge myself and manoeuvre up the 'chimney'. Left looked impossible so I chose the chimney. Rocks the size of shoe boxes were just pulling out and crashing down. If I'd stopped, I'd have slipped down. There is a gap in my memory for the next half hour until I sat upon the ridge like on a horses back with death drops either side. I shimmied along and gradually reached safety. The 3 guys I was with eventually met me up there. We ran the scree down, straight into a small lake where a woman was swimming with her dog and then onto the Old Dungeon Ghyll pub. These routes are like Sirens ... they can lure you gradually until you are in a critical situation. Please notice when you feel super confident and remember this true tale. 😊
Why couldn’t you retrace your way back down? Was it too steep or complicated? Also, when you went up the trail you knew you couldn’t back out of, didn’t you feel like maybe you shouldn’t go?
@@BlackSeranna Hi, yes it seemed easy enough to start with. I knew people who had completed the ascent this way and felt equally capable. At the point where I realised I should come back down, it was too steep to see where my feet could go. Apparently, the route to the left is actually quite do-able but the correct trail was overgrown with bracken and looked impossible as a result. In hindsight, I was reckless and was very lucky to have got away with it. When I saw the chimney, my first idea was that I could wedge myself there and hopefully be rescued but inch by inch I worked my way up. There are youtube videos of this place if you'd like to see it, it's Dungeon Ghyll, in the Lake District. I did a stupid thing that day for sure.
I was there as it was my stag night before getting married at the end of August. I still have nightmares about seeing Si's legs dangling from the chock stone at the top of the chimney. In the absence of my now wife or any other women I was in charge as I had climbed that route a couple of times. I had let the party get separated while helping the less capable members over come their fear at being out of their comfort zone. I will always be grateful that its just a scary memory and guilt which would haunt me for the rest of my life. What doesn't kill us makes strong and wiser, I hope.
@@stuartharper1193 Oh man, it was a hairy one! 😳 Have to take issue with your idea of us, ( me) being less capable though! The route to the left was for the less capable. As Dirty Harry said, ' It's good for a man to know his limits', or something like that😚
@@Smeegheed1963the route you took was strictly for all time legendary superheroes only, obviously I have done 3 times. Fitz was the one not able cope with the sheep shit 6:15 .
What a way to hear of an old friends passing. Marne and I used to climb and tramp together in the late 90's when we both lived in Wanaka. Last time I saw her was boxing day 2004. She was hut warden at French ridge. She was incredibly intelligent. A genius. To the point where I'm not surprised to learn of her mental illness later in life. All you keyboard warriors need to know is that she was mortified by what happened in this story. Everyone makes mistakes. 😢
I remember attempting this route many years ago from the West Coast side. We stayed at a Harman Hutt the first night but snow came in quite low so decided to turn back. It was mid January, our mid summer. As stated, the weather in the Southern Alps is unpredictable in all seasons. This is not a route you would undertake for your first walk in the mountains!
The string of decisions here in this story are mind boggling but it seems like such is always the case in the stories presented on this channel. The very obvious choice was to turn the hell around back to the hut, amazing that they chose option B instead. EDIT: The "Aftermath" now explains unfortunately what made little sense about the whole ordeal. Very unfortunate deal.
I'm thinking Marnie was suicidally stubborn and couldn't back down from her life decisions. Sonia just got caught up in her mess.
@@xisigma I believe so too. I had originally commented before I got to the end but once I watched the "Aftermath" part that's exactly where my thoughts led me. Sonia had no idea who she was trusting her life to.
Also drinking wine because they believed that was going to be the day they were going to be found, ONLY because one of them was expected back, completely disregarding the vast extense of the area/search…. Of course they were not going to be found right away. So so so dumb
signaling devices are crucial in any pack.... mirrors, strobes, and even flares..... paracord doesnt take up much room and you can use it for climbing or descending if you use prusik knots with a tag end to use as descenders....
The good thing about hiking in NZ is there are no dangerous animals that will attack or eat you. Just stick to easy or moderate trails and always be prepared with provisions & warm clothes cuz the weather changes on a dime, you'll be ok!
I grew some of my best weed ever in Arthur's pass beautiful place to live
One of the best narratives, and I know this area well. Marnie died while attempting the Waimakariri Col crossing into the Rolleston River - a long hike on the last day through untracked rugged country. I hope she didn't suffer too much.
Reading between lines Marni was not herself on her last tramp. I believe she had no intention of returning.
Still very sad. She must have been in a lot of pain, emotionally and physically. God bless her soul.
Poor soul. That is her 3rd time hiking tragedy.
As a NZer I completely understand the want to hike in the national parks and high country, but think people forget how dangerous and ISOLATED it is. The bush can be so dense it can be very hard to be found, much less so if you have no survival knowledge.
PLEASE hire a personal locator beacon - they are hired out by many places in both North and South islands, and could be the difference between life and death!
I can't get enough of your awesomeness....that voce! your amazing storytelling! Don't worry--I pose no threat being a 68 year old lady suffering osteoarthritis in my lower back. lol. Awesome video.
What a lucky survival story and lucky find ❤🎉
Thanks for another interesting video
Another best story, I have not heard this one before. Thank you
JR, you are putting out some great stories! Have a great day! Thanks!
Stay on the path.
There you go again!!!!....Another incredible video!!! What a story, and as always you tell it with absolute narration perfection! One knows this quality by how many gasps, tears, OMGs are spoken while watching !!! And I have done all several times while watching this one. Thanks again for my weekly OD Fix!!! This one may last awhile!!!!
I'm not sure but maybe they can repel down
Best show make it longer thank you
I'll do my best. Thanks for watching!
Love hiking the Santa Monica mountains, Ojai, Los Padres National forest and all the beautiful state parks we have here in CA. I hike alone and I make sure I always have phone signal, lots of water and snacks with me. I respect my limits and 😊also know when it’s time to stop and go back. I hike on trails and avoid difficult terrain and bad weather. I hope people stay safe out there. Peace✌️.
Assumptions almost killed them. The trail, the food and the rescue.
No way I would end up climbing that. Not a chance.
Yikes: it was an accident waiting to happen. You always take extra rations and emergency warm clothing and a bivvy bag, all available in ultralight versions., not to mention a SPOT locator. And why didn't they have a Jetboil or other small stove? Insane. There's no such thing as 'a simple 3 day hiking trip in the mountains'. They were very lucky to survive.
So happy to see you at 100k subscribers and proud to be one of them! 😊 Onward to 1M and more!❤
Marni Sheppeard came to a sticky end in Arthur's Pass National Park, on Mt Rolleston if memory serves correctly. This happened in February of 2021, again IIRC but it took a few weeks to find her body. She was a reckless hiker who didn't understand her own limits and had no interest in the limits of Ms Rendell.
Sounds about right, but not just reckless - also senseless in the effort SAR teams have to spend on poor decision-makers and sort of mountain egotrip like hers.
I’m sure this ordeal helped her to get over her ex boyfriend
At the very least! 🙌🏼
Sounds like personal issues
🤣🤣Absolutely!
😂 touché 😂
A lot of great decision making in this one
I first heard this story on I Shouldn’t Be Alive. Happy to hear it being told here too. I couldn’t believe they drank the wine 😅
Hi J.R. Good afternoon! This looks really good, as always!! 🙂 Thanks soooo much!! Have a great week! 🌷🌻🌹
almost to 100k love this channel. you’ll be at 250 soon i bet
Breaks her ankle falling into a crevasse in Europe then leads her friend on disaster hike/climb. Maybe your judgement and instincts in the mountains isn't what you think it is. Classic "I'm experienced so this is fine" until you realize you can't back track and get stuck. This isn't even "it could happen to anyone", no you went free soloing up a cliff you couldn't down climb, just dumb.
I think Marnie had mental health problems back then, too
Know your hiking partner. Do not accompany one who is mentally unstable and/or a poor decision-maker.
Like so many of these situations, there is one main rule: DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH FANATICS WITH A ‘PASSION’ FOR OUTDOORS: they always seem to value that passion more than you. Reckless with your life they will be. Often they will find a way to save themselves though.
THIS !
RIP Marni Sheppard, a PHD doctor in physics who struggled with being unhoused confirms her mental health must have declined.
I just have one question: why take a path you can't return on?
Makes no sense right? Eventually you have to face the facts & descend
They weren't going to return this way, they were hiking through to another destination and the expectation was there would be an easier track down on the other side of the summit.
@@MorryMorry-k5o Correct.
RIP Marni, very sad.
Omg, how sad. I had heard about this but I didn't know about the last part.
I’m here to wipe your tears 🥹🥲
Me too! Did not know about the last part either.
Love this channel
I would have done an about-face at that massive sheet of ice. Sonya wanted to get her mind off the breakup with her boyfriend. I'm pretty sure at least that was accomplished. After needing rescue twice, I see Marni died a few years ago on another mountain hike after a third search-and-rescue effort failed. Seems she had mental issues. That's sad.
They absolutely lost me at “drank a bottle of wine because of their intense thirst” brooo why the fuck would drinking even be something they would consider
Re Marnie: What a sad life that it takes 2 months before anyone reports you missing :(
Wow, what a nightmare!! One thing, I guess it took Sonya's mind off her break-up! 😬
There is an old strategy to decide if something is a good idea, if trying to make decisions in an emergency with incomplete information. It involves running thru all the options that you hope are true (we can find a road over that hill, we can climb this cliff above snow) and ask “and what if I am wrong/that assumption is wrong? “. If the answer is “and then we probably die”….it’s usually best to try another option, or at least the one where death is less certain.
In this case, the best option would be to turn around at the snow impasse, as if they got weak or injured on the trail back, they would be easier to find by rescuers, could make a fire or one could go on to get help if the other could not.
Yeah, and This Very process- "if my Decision & Hope is wrong... i d¡e... Then this decision is No Good... iF there are other ones: like Don't Start Up... Take gear, Plan for Cold, Take Plb etc. Starting BEFORE you Start Out... is what People just can't seem to Do!??!
A 3 day hikes thru wilderness, involving off trails, climbing, crevasses, snow, etc., is not a simple hike. It was about ego and not trusting instinct.
Marnie said there was bad weather coming predicted in one day. Their hike was a 3-day hike. They should have turned around right then and there. And what Marnie put Sonya through was extremely irresponsible.
I like your esteemed content, go on please ❤😊
Crazy story. Wow.
I've known people like that, experienced outdoors-types who take less experienced people out into dangerous areas. It happened to me once, but I got out of it OK.
I went on a winter backpacking trip with a friend, who was a champion on the Alaskan ski racing team and grew up in an Inuit village.
She had sense and exoerience w cold weather and wilderness.
Her flighty, histrionic roommate begged to go.
We said absolutely not. We refused to give in.
Thank God, because we got caught in an ice storm at 11,500 ft, and she got high altitude cerebral edema and was hallucinating and vomiting.
We barely survived the night. We were only 6 miles from the trail head, and the temptation to try to make a run for it in the dark would have probably sent that flightly roommate to her death.
We knew not to move until daylight.
Even then, it was a lot to get her down to an altitude where she could recover.
We had olenty of gear and even then, we had to put one sleeping bag inside the other and both of us crammed in, wearing our winter gear.
Our bags were rated for -30°F.
We had a tent, too, and our breath and her the moisture from her throwing up cause an inch of ice on the inside of the tent .
The wind was so fierce we could hardly get the tent up (we had a backup tent, also).
Even once we got down to a lower altitudez when we rested on a beach by a lake, I discovered we were lying next to a deer stashed there by a mountain lion.😂
We quickly moved.
After we recovered, we hiked back to the car, throwing our sodden gear into a trash can.
We were so so grateful we had held to our boundaries concerning her roommate.
She would have panicked and caused her own death and likely ours.
The edge between life and death was very thin on that trip.
Great video
Remember when a woman got a terrible premonition in a trail, and didn't want to continue.
Her boyfriend mocked her for this irrational feeling and insisted on continuing.
She went on, reluctabtly.
Pay attention to intuition!
They rounded a curve and he was attacked and killed by a bear on a crowded trail, in front of everyone.
Excellent content
Omg!! They must have been so happy!
new subscriber…. excellent video ❤
I went through Arthur’s pass on a train, very chill
Getting close to 100k
Congratulations 🎊
This story sounds familiar but its been awhile since heard it.
I am always astounded how so many underprepare for being on adventures outside never expectations of anything going wrong.
Paradigm change when ice turned trip from hiking to mountaineering. Climbed myself into an equivalent potential dilemma, got lucky got out. Easy to lose your mental horizon in the wilderness, off your home turf and certainties. Peace to all and families and friends. Thanks to searchers. 🙃
Climb this massive unsafe vertical or go back the campsite where the beer is?
Let me see: A team that hardly knows each other, one totally inexperienced, one recovering from an injury. Trying to 'outrun' the forecast bad weather. Not turning back when facing clearly adverse and forbidding conditions of the trail. Then to top it all off: Climbing up into unknown terrain with neither climbing experience nor climbing gear. And doing all that without any of the emergency shelter and comms equipment or any other emergency gear that one might want to carry. So it takes a lot to get yourself into a situation like this - not just one bad decision, but a whole string.
This reminds me so much of the event which included Mark Inglis, (and his mate Phil Doole (?) happened November??? 1982, he is married to a friend of mine. Thank heavens they were safe
20:04 What is up with that?
She’s kept one of the highest paid jobs there is for over a decade in a wealthy nation, and somehow ends up homeless?
This woman seriously needed to get some help with her mental health. It’s sad that society will just sit there and act like her lifestyle wasn’t a serious red flag in terms of psychological state. She looks out of her mind in that last photo.
A great video, what a story! But they were incredibly lucky - I’ve twice been to Arthur’s Pass although I’m from the U.K. and the thought of hiking there in winter without proper equipment is dumbfounding. One woman had no experience and the other had no common sense. A shame that after all that, Marnie had to die in the same place they were rescued from, prematurely.
It wasn't winter. Christmas is in summer here in NZ.
@ thank you! I’d not worked that out 😊.
Friends? Maybe collegues...acquaintances.
Only by the grace of God
"God" guided them there, and we don't have free will.
The range of emotions in this story was more than watching Inside Out.
Goodness, I guess the lessons are: Always leave an overview of your route with the homefront, Always have a communication device, Never leave the trail and know your limits and the limits of your hiking partners. Personally I know my skills only include a hike when there is an actual path to walk on 😅
These girls were so lucky to be found and got out alive! Very tragic to hear what turns life took for one of them later 😔 But I guess in the end she died in the only place that would proved her some mental comfort.
Imprudent risk !!
lesson: don't follow mentally unstable people into the wilderness. right before you said what happened to her, I said to myself. "I bet she's going to get lost and die out in the forest"....
you can't save some people.
I wonder if the hikers realistically take in the distance and terrain for such a hike. I did a four mile hike near Tucson, AZ to a water fall in the summer. I had plenty of water but by the time I made it back it had turned into an eight mile hike and I was exhausted and had blisters on my feet.
How on earth does an experienced hiker/climber not bring warm waterproof clothes and tell her friend to do the same? My hubby and I take super warm clothes and gear on day hikes for Pete's sake. You just don't go in the mountains without it.
I think Marnie was showing off to impress and attract Sonia.
Marnie did look like she swung that way
Marnie getting Sonia alone. 😂😂😂
They are married and living happily ever after
You joker.
Ol' Marni kind of sounds like a jerk. She says she will definitely be more careful about who she takes with her, when she was the cause of the whole problem, not her partner. And to prove it, she got lost again. Psychosis is a terrible thing.
Sometime we gotta call people for what they are: stupid
“Rapidly changing weather conditions” worldwide people are saying “if you don’t like the weather it will change soon”, where they live, but it’s the same in every place on earth! So why would anyone ever want to climb a steep cliff?? And if they keep doing it, someday they will be sorry! Everyone should listen to these and maybe they will stop doing it. It’s great to listen to these stories because it makes you happy that you stopped before it was too late! Haha. And if they keep going on steep dangerous climbs and it happens, I have no pity for them.
Ah god so sad R I P thank you O D 😢😢❤️❤️🙏🙏
watch the i shouldnt be alive episode about it. this transcript is pretty much ripped from that and put into chat gpt
I couldn't finish this story. The sheer stupidity of these two women pissed me off. Especially when there are people in the world not taking a chance with their life, much less someone else's life that are fighting for their life.