This Beach Could Cost You $3000🤯

[Tehpillowstar]

For those confused, an explanation:

1. It's expensive because it's a technical rescue, requiring 8-10 people using ropes to scale down and up the slope. It's demanding, dangerous, and requires a lot of coordination to keep rescuers safe.

2. High lake levels submerge the beach, which off ATV access, thus why the sign says "the only way out is up."

3. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a wilderness park similar to Yellowstone and Yosemite, not a beach resort. Asking why they can't just build a lift is like asking why they won't build a lift to get you to the top of the Grand Canyon. (Not to mention that these are sand dunes, which shift around and feature no solid ground to serve as a foundation for any structure.)

4. The difficulty of the climb is deceptive. The sand gets very hot in the summer, while there's no shade to shield you from the sun. It's very quick to get to the bottom, but it's a 2 hour grueling climb to get back to the top. People underestimate this, and may not bring sufficient water, or leave their shoes behind at the top.

5. You can lose a huge amount of water just from sweating (up to 5 L/hour). With the hot sands and no shade, this is a recipe for extreme dehydration and exertional heat exhaustion--possibly even heat stroke. No wonder people find themselves in need of rescue.

6. On an environmental standpoint, scrambling up and down the slope accelerates erosion, so you probably shouldn't do it anyway. Same with building infrastructure to allow for easier egress.

7. "What about helicopter rescue?" Guys, helicopters are NOT cheap--a medical flight helicopter costs over $100, 000. They can only fly in certain weather conditions, and because of the steep terrain they can't land. Hovering in a helicopter is dangerous and requires technical skill. (Not to mention think about all the sand and rocks that would get thrown around--yikes!)

8. Half of the people rescued don't pay the bill. The costs then have to be covered by the fire department and the county, which puts an additional tax burden on the population, which is only about 18, 000.

[dschoas]

You climb up in zigzag. takes longer, but it is much easier. Same as climbing up snow fileds in the mountains.

[KevinWynsma]

They used to have a warning sign warning about people with health or heart problems to not go down. They found people are more afraid of losing money than dying, so they changed the signs.

[AmpHibious]

Almost nothing would motivation me more to climb up than a $3000 fine.

[riku]

Business idea, get a boat and offer rescue service for 2900.

[Bloodthriver]

Imagine getting rescued and they ask you to pay 3 grand and you don't have it so they just push you back down the dune 😂

[Desh]

This is how my parents went to school every day

[creamyy_moon]

As a person who has been there, I know it is not as hard as it seems. For a normal healthy person, this is totally doable. It is also a very scenic place so I'd recommend going here.

[Cariboan]

As someone who skips 1 step every time while climbing a staircase everyday i can confirm this as an absolute win

[kakerake]

Imagine getting rescued while ppl are literally skipping around on the dune

[craizedjake]

Bro “almost impossible” is a little bit of a stretch seeing as over 99% of people get backup

[Altrag_]

Bruh, please. I fucking live here. Can't make it back going straight up. Take a walk, a mile down the beach it gets flatter

[schablam]

i wonder what it would be like rolling down there like a ball

[Zfickoff]

Getting rescued while children are playing around you seems like a major loss

[TheTwoTurrets]

I've been here several times. Fun fact, those dunes are rising, that sign is new, the old one about the same height was buried over about a 10 year span.

[tommywolfe]

I went there with my son last summer and did the dune trail hike. It is roughly 3.5 miles round trip. It took forever. It was hot, there was hardly any shade and the sand burned your feet and reflected the sun back up at you, burning you from all angles.

We get to where we can see the water and I ask my son "you ready to swim" and some dude turns around and said "you arent from around here, are you?". I asked him why he said that and he said "you will find out".

We get to the beach. The entire stretch as far as I could see had a 3foot thick line of dead fish right at the waters edge. There were some fish floating in the water, and the water was murky. I thought it looked like algae. My son insisted on swimming, so I told him just not to get his head under the water. I tried. It was so cold that it was bone chilling. And no one else was swimming. The whole time we were there. We saw a few people get in and out really quick, but that was it.

We took an alternate route back, one that wasnt a trail, and encountered an embankment like the one in the video. After all the hiking, the heat, etc, I can see how people get stuck. We put our shoes on our hands and zig zagged up the dune, creating switchbacks, and we made it, but we needed a few breaks.

[PatriotismIsntJustFlyingAFlag]

It's not a fine. A fine is a penalty. It's the cost of services required to rescue you.

[pauldavis]

"Dang, I'm stuck down here"
*checks wallet
"Well I guess this is my new home"

[YeuxArdents]

As a michigan resident who's been here several times. It's not about getting stuck on the hill. There's a steep drop off once you get in the water. When it's low tide it makes it like you're climbing a ledge of sand that just keeps collapsing. There's a high chance the man being rescued came from the water

[Sicklergaming]

3000 FOR ONE RESCUE??? Bro I'd rescue em for 500