A few of the world's best cliff jumpers got together at Abiqua Falls in听Oregon听to push their limits on the 102-foot听drop.听Oregon Send Fest comes courtesy of diver and videographer .

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We all know that one-upmanship on social media is stupid and dangerous, making people attempt dangerous things for . But now we may have stats to prove it. The Los Angeles County Sheriff鈥檚 Department Search and Rescue team reports that its missions have increased by 38 percent over the last five years鈥攕omething they attribute to people sharing photos and videos of their dangerous activities online.

That department ran 681 SAR missions in 2017, its highest number ever, up from听491 in 2013. L.A. County is home to numerous outdoor hotspots, from beaches听to 50-foot waterfalls to slot canyons to听10,000-foot mountains. The cops attribute some of the increase in SAR work to social media and other online tools that reveal previously little-known spots to the masses. They also blame people who try听to mimic dangerous stunts they see online or to impress their followers with new ones.

鈥淧eople will post videos of themselves jumping off of Hermit Falls or the Malibu rock pool, and they post it in the springtime when there鈥檚 a decent amount of water. But now, the water is a lot less, so what used to be a 10-foot pool is now a 5-foot pool,鈥� Michael Leum, of the Sheriff鈥檚 Office, told . 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 want to be a lawn dart going into that shallow pool.鈥�

The county has closed many dangerous locations in recent years, but signs often aren鈥檛 enough to discourage people determined to find an epic spot听they鈥檝e found online. I used to be one of those people. A few years ago, friends and I watched a video of people cliff jumping in Eaton Canyon, in the San Gabriel Mountains, then set out to re-create what we鈥檇 watched. Going off-trail to make our way into the waterfalls, we scaled a dangerous cliff with the aid of tree roots and a sketchy rope put up by strangers before reaching the base of the upper falls. The water was low and听the climb up the falls was too difficult since we鈥檇 failed to bring ropes, so we decided to call it quits. But we still risked our lives just to make our social media presence look a little more exciting. I鈥檓 glad I know better now.

By venturing off-trail in a high-use area, we also contributed to soil erosion. Robert Garcia, the fire chief for Angeles National Forest explains: 鈥淭rails are designed with mitigation and resource protection in mind, so user-created trails don鈥檛 have that level of planning.鈥�

He also suggests that social media is drawing unprepared people to outdoor locations that require experience, planning, and proper equipment to navigate safely. People are venturing into what鈥檚 actually a pretty challenging environment without tools, adequate footwear, proper clothing, flashlights, or even drinking water. The Times relates the story of a 19-year-old who got lost, found himself on top of a waterfall by accident, while wearing tennis shoes, then slipped and fell 50 feet. He broke his tailbone and pelvis.

That kid was lucky. Just two months ago, I wrote a story about three members of Canadian social media collective High on Life,听who died when they were swept over a waterfall听while trying to create content for their popular Instagram account and YouTube channel.

Writing this, I kind of feel like a dad asking his child if they鈥檇 jump off a cliff just because their friends did. But that is literally the advice I鈥檓 trying to impart. Likes on social media are never worth your life.

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Three members of controversial听social-media collective High on Life were killed when they were swept over a waterfall in Canada. It鈥檚 a tragic, if sadly predictable, conclusion to a career of risk-taking one-upmanship that once landed two of the trio in jail for .

According to reports, Ryker Gamble and Alexey Lyakh dove into a pool above British Columbia鈥檚 in an attempt to rescue Megan Scraper after she slipped and fell.听All three were then reportedly swept over the 98-foot drop, prompting a two-day search that eventually led to the recovery of their bodies.

Rugged terrain and heavy seasonal water flow complicated search and rescue efforts. The bodies were eventually found and recovered by Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who听rappelled into the base of the falls from a helicopter, then used an underwater camera to find the bodies.听鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough about the incredible skilled work done today by the RCMP teams along with Squamish SAR,鈥� said Sascha Banks of the Squamish RCMP .

Once remote and challenging to access, visitation to Shannon Falls has increased in recent years following the 2014 construction of the nearby Sea to Sky Gondola. 鈥淚t looks beautiful, it鈥檚 a sunny day, but given the extensive water flow that comes off the mountains, and the number of incidents that we鈥檝e had in the Squamish area lately, people just need to be prepared,鈥澨鼴anks said in the statement. 鈥淯nless you have the knowledge of that area, the expertise and the right equipment you should not be up there.鈥�

Part of the issue is the natural terrain. 鈥淭he granite there is beautifully carved by the water over hundreds of years, and it鈥檚 very slick, and with the spray and some lichen that builds up on it, people don鈥檛 realize how slippery it is,鈥� Squamish SAR official John Willcox explained to the . 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a number of dogs that have gone into the water, and people that have slipped into the water as well. Fortunately in the past, they have all been able to be rescued.鈥�

In 2014, High on Life shot a video of the group cliff jumping and sliding down waterfalls at nearby Lynn Canyon. Two years later, a teenage boy was killed attempting to perform similar stunts there. High on Life responded to his death by stating on their YouTube page, 鈥淥ur team has been trained and involved in gymnastics, diving, stunts, and the extreme sports community for over a decade.听We take many precautions when assessing safe diving spots, including checking water levels, water currents, height measurements, etc, and always have locals and professionals alongside with us when embarking on these epic cliff jumping missions. As much fun as it can be, it is also EXTREMELY dangerous. There have been several accidents and even deaths at this location, and we DO NOT condone others to try and attempt the same things we’ve done.鈥�

That was just one of a number of controversies the group has been involved in. Created seven years ago by a group of high school students from Vancouver, High on Life showcased their听international travels and frequent risk taking. The group听quickly garnered a large following鈥攊t currently has 502,000 subscribers on 听and 1.1 million followers on 鈥斕齛t least some of the members to call it their full-time job. In 2016, Gamble, Lyakh, and another man were spotted cavorting听on Grand Prismatic Hot Spring in Yellowstone, damaging its sensitive microorganism听mats and risking their lives in the process. The incident eventually led to the three for a laundry list of related crimes, and they served a week in jail, payed听thousands of dollars in fines, and, most notably, were banned from all U.S. public land for five years.

There have been听. High on Life has , climbed Berlin鈥檚 Holocaust Memorial, affixed a rope swing to Utah鈥檚 picturesque, but fragile Corona Arch, and . In 2016, asking corporate sponsors to end their sponsorship of the group garnered 22,418 signatures over a week, and prompted to announce they wouldn鈥檛 work with High on Life in the future.

Across social media, reactions to the deaths have referenced these controversies. A established to raise funds for funeral services proved so controversial that its comments were disabled, and its original $100,000 goal was reduced to $50,000. At the time of writing, it鈥檚 raised a total of $2,791. A 听(Instagram influencer Alissa Hansen) has proven more successful, raising $13,123.

In response to the deaths, the surviving members of High on Life recorded this video.

The post Doing It for the 鈥楪ram Turns Deadly appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It was all going so well for Orange County鈥檚 Anthony Booth Armer. Just two months old, his YouTube channel had already accrued 56,000 subscribers and more than 16 million views. Stunts like jumping 129 feet from the roof of a condo building into the harbor below听had earned him widespread notoriety, and even听a segment on Comedy Central鈥檚 Tosh.0. And then, at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday, the police . The consequences of his death-defying antics hadn鈥檛 taken long to catch up with the man previously only known as 鈥�8Booth.鈥� Not only was the jump illegal, it was really, really dangerous.听

With the rise of action cams, easy video editing software, and social media, new life has been breathed into the classic daredevil trope. Now, anyone with a GoPro and an Instagram account can risk his life for all the world to see. For what?听Fifteen听minutes of fame and probably more than a little dose of proving your parents wrong. But the quest for one upmanship, and the encouragement of frankly idiotic behavior, makes all this stuff dangerous and potentially deadly. Those ? .听

If there's a silver lining, it's that Armer's shenanigans have brought a lot of attention to听the sport of cliff jumping, and raising important questions about how to do it safely. I exchanged a few short emails with听Armer听prior to writing this article, with the hopes of interviewing him. He stopped responding. Next,听I turned to听鈥攖he godfather of Southern California鈥檚 cliff jumping scene鈥攖o help detail what 8Booth gets wrong with his jumps, and explain how you can jump off tall stuff into deep water听safely.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH0xq09jlIL/

Armer Enters听the Water All Wrong

Landing on your butt is not fun. Just ask my friend Audrey, who landed on her ass completing a 50-footer in central California. She sported a bruise for weeks.听

鈥淲hen this dude jumps, he鈥檚 basically cannonballing,鈥� describes Edwards. 鈥淚f he penciled, he would break his legs,” because of the water depth.听

Armer can be seen jumping into many very shallow places, which informs听his body position as he falls: he鈥檚 jumping for a shallow splash. The payoff: more of his body hits the water, in a more painful way.听

Because you鈥檙e a smart person and you鈥檙e only going to jump into water that鈥檚 plenty deep, you鈥檙e going to enter feet first, taking care to keep your feet together, your chin tight to your chest, and your arms either clamped to your sides or supporting your head. Basically, you鈥檙e trying to minimize your body鈥檚 surface area as it penetrates the water.听

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mtqFdtLqyII

He鈥檚 Jumping Into Water That鈥檚 Too Shallow

鈥淔or any jump, you need to start with at least eight feet of water,鈥� explains Edwards. 鈥淎dd another two feet to that for each 10 feet you gain in cliff height.鈥�

Armer鈥攚ith his multiple dives into California pools鈥攆ails听to abide by this most basic rule. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a law in Orange County that public pools can鈥檛 be more than eight feet deep (unless they鈥檙e diving pools). That鈥檚 why you see all those “No Diving” signs,鈥� says Edwards.听

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vctjm9nUF68

We Never See Him Check听the Landing听

Never jump off a cliff without first having explored the water beneath it听to check out depth and potential obstacles under the surface.听鈥淧eople die all the time,鈥� Edwards says. 鈥淚t's either because they didn't check the water depth or are jumping from higher than they've done before, just to impress their friends. Deaths happen when people hit the water, gasp for air, and swallow water. They get knocked out and they drown.鈥�

Did 8Booth swim the water beneath the dock before his 129-foot jump? It鈥檚 not clear. But if he didn鈥檛, he could have been diving on top of sunken trash, old pier pylons, or onto any number of potentially deadly hazards.听

Even if you鈥檝e jumped there before or if other people report that听it's fine, swim the water immediately听before a jump. Logs and other debris can float downstream and even pools can be irregular, with rocks and curved walls听in unexpected places. Develop an ironclad guarantee that your entry is clear听before risking听a jump.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=dlFwJ1NBlLY

He Doesn鈥檛 Work Up to the Big Stunt

鈥淥n his huge jump at the harbor, you can see he lands flat on his butt and back,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淗e realized mid-jump that he was barely going to clear that dock, so he panicked and leaned back. Thankfully he did that or he would have died.鈥�

Experienced听cliff jumpers work up to bigger and bigger jumps to听develop an understanding of how far they听need to jump at which heights and at what point you'll enter the water. Humans听fall with some very semblance听control, so you must develop a progressive understanding of a jump and its entry.听

鈥淭he lesson is: if you jump stuff before testing depth and clearance, you鈥檙e gonna die,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淚f you want to be a YouTube sensation, make sure you don鈥檛 break your legs in the process.鈥�

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLybJ1XAk2v/

He's听Ruining听the Sport for Others

Practice safe cliff jumping and you won't give others an excuse to stop us from doing it. 鈥淸8Booth]听sets a bad example for younger audiences. Now some 14-year-old is going to try to impress his friends, he鈥檚 going to jump something huge, and he鈥檚 going to die. All because this guy wants more YouTube views.鈥澨�

Edwards and his friends have worked hard to legitimize the sport of cliff jumping. Not only do they advocate for safe practices, they also try to positively听affect听the locations they鈥檙e jumping from, cleaning out trash and painting over graffiti. That may seem to jar with the pursuit鈥檚 rebel image, but it's vital that any sport benefits the natural places it relies on. Slowly, cliff jumping鈥檚 reputation is improving. But it still only takes one idiot to destroy it.

Don鈥檛 be that idiot.听

鈥淚f you want to become a cliff jumper, start off on something small and legal,鈥� says Edwards. 鈥淎lways check the depth so you don鈥檛 float up dead. Also, try to jump things where you don鈥檛 have to clear an obstacle [like a dock or a boulder] before landing in the water. Find a popular spot, ask locals where to jump, and watch other people do it. And definitely don鈥檛 jump just to impress someone. Do it for the love of jumping.鈥�

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