2000 people die lost in the Rockies every year
From BearWiki
Claim: Bear says 2000 people die lost in the Rockies; this is questionable.
While it is unlikely that such statistics are even compiled, one can compare to statistics which are known. Yosemite, a wilderness area the size of Rhode Island, draws 3.5 million tourists per year, and at 761,266 acres, it has a large amount of "wilderness" to get lost in -- to the degree that overnight trips to the backcountry require a wilderness permit. It is one of the largest wilderness areas in the continental United States, and despite the large numbers, most visitors only ever see the seven square miles of Yosemite Valley.[1] So, how many people die lost in Yosemite every year?
YOSAR, Yosemite's Search and Rescue Team, launches between 150 and 200 missions per year -- everything from people with blisters to climbers stranded on the face of El Capitan. 12 people die in the valley each year -- but most of these aren't lost. Most deaths are due to accidents -- climbing accidents (about two per year), car accidents, and even things like heart attacks.[2]
The concept of two thousand dying lost in the Rockies every year seems fictitious and greatly exaggerated.
