Climbers viciously attacked in Peru

iFlip

iFlip

Active member
This story just broke, and is receiving attention within the climbing community in an attempt to get it to the national level. There is also of course the donations issue, which should receive immediate attention. This entire ordeal is like something out of a horror movie. It's difficult to believe that things like this still happen in the modern world. Peru really isn't that far removed from Western influence, as evidenced by people recording the happenings on cell phones, calling friends to participate in the beatings, etc.
The story is certainly worth a read, whether or not you are a climber.
Link: http://adventureamericas.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/nightmare-in-peru/
 
Wow. I can't even quite comprehend that. It's frustrating that we'll probably never hear any more about the backstory or what comes of this attack.
 
fuck man thats actually semi horrifying. i dont know how politically / economically stable peru is but i know a lot of those developing countries in south/central america can get pretty dangerous. i went to guatemala a few years ago on a sort of outreach / house building trip (trendy, right?) and just two days after we left, our host people were robbed of all their legal documents, wallets, money and car and left bound and gagged on the side of a mountain road. pretty fucked up stuff, especially considering these people had dedicated their lives to help the less fortunate people living in the rural areas of the country. those two host people were killed in a small plane crash within the same year, leaving behind three kids to the orphanage that they had founded. pretty devastating to their organization...

and this thread has left me rather depressed.

 
I'm surprised this made it to TGR already, but that's great! Here is a link to an article that attempts to answer some of the questions that were raised: http://www.planetjh.com/news/A_109001.aspx
If someone who has a TGR account would like to post that link over there as well, I would appreciate it.
 
Well the guy who posted on TGR is a family member, so it makes sense. Totally horrible situation and I really hope they make it home soon, which seems to be the biggest feat as they were stripped of their passports and IDs.
 
Reminds me of one of the redbull bmx trips back in like 2004ish? A bunch of pro bikers were on a road trip I think in mexico and they got stopped at a road block and taken hostage. I think some of them had their fingers smashed with hammers. The kidnappers demanded a million dollars and red bull put it all up to get them back. Crazy shit
 
I was hoping for a revenge part of the story where they go back and fuck them up. i hope something is done about this.
 
holy shit, that's terrifying especially since i have some friends doing the exact same thing only their destination is patagonia, they're in guatemala right now.
 
Seriously, that's awful. I've been to a lot of places in the world and I constantly add more places to my list that I'd never send my friends.

We talk constantly about how "fucked up our country is" and no one has any idea how fucking pathetic and infuriating our neighboring nations' day to day business can be.
 
nothing is going to be done about it as far as punishment is concerned. there really isn't such a thing as "police" in the remote parts of cocoa country....and what semblance of police does exist certainly isn't on the side of a bunch of gringos. there is a lot of anti-american resentment in some of these places.
 
yes they're idiots. but just cause they're idiots doesnt give you the right to kill them. sorry to crush your dreams man.
 
I think it actually happened. Then again I read it in ride almost 10 years ago so hard to remember exactly how it was put down. I mean shady shit like that goes down all the time with kidnapping people.

I don't see why they would have posted bullshit in the magazine. I think the one part was more of disclaimer. Idk
 
If I can be extremely frank, there are hundreds of other shit fucked places in the world that make the states look incredible in every way. The kind of crime that is extremely prevalent and un-pursued in other well developed nations is fucking ridiculous. We complain and say our country is going down the shitter when we have to sell our house with a pool because our Google stock didn't do as well as we'd hoped, get fucking real.
 
Dumb gringos in Latin America

those villagers probably harvest that "fair trade" coffee your parents like to buy.
 
^ What I was thinking. Cannot believe that people are that insanely messed up. Seriously sounds like a horror movie, I didn't really think things like this still happened.
 
Damn, I would have no problem burning that entire village to the ground and leaving those people with nothing(as long as no one got hurt). What a bunch of genuinely shitty human beings...
 
Holy shit man. That is some crazy shit right there, I cant believe they went through all that and then got toyed around by the police and hospitals. Unreal story, glad they are alive.
 
Reading through everything on TGR and the story reports, I'm still not sure if the whole ordeal is 100% verified and real....?

If it is, then holy shit that's wild. Hopefully they'll be back in Jackson sooner or later.
 
I'm gona be the guy and say it...

Yes, horrible story, experience, lucky to be alive...BUT what the fuck were you doing traveling by vehicle, being an American, through Central America and into South America and camping. What did you think was going to happen? All the jungle people just welcome you in and like you? Seriously....

And to do all of that, unarmed. I know you would not be able to bring a weapon from country to country, but at least have a knife, bat, or something....
 
how come they wernt traveling with any firearms or protection? is it illegal to have a firearm crossing borders? prob would have caused more of a problem had they used one in defense. but who knows
 
Ya, we shouldn't punish people for crimes just because their victims made themselves vulnerable.

trollolololololol
 
fuck you guys, go read the TGR thread where people with real world experience share their opinions, it will make more sense than your teenage behind the computer screen opinions
 
from tgr

Read this whole thread, and was on the fence as to what I felt, as I can see both the sympathy and the wtfyousostupid. Then I read the blog. One word comes to mind. ENTITLEMENT. Within the first few paragraphs, I went from feeling sorry for them to wanting to throw a few rocks myself. Having spent a lot of time in SA, I have to agree with earlier posters... something doesn't smell right here. Getting jacked is easily believable. You have stuff/they need stuff. Getting roughed up for being a cracker in a drugfarm zone? Sure. Smack bitches and send them packing. But the while village mob scene, complete with synchronized whistle formations and blinding flashlight (LOL) assault, for NO reason? Questionable. And how does she know exactly what was being discussed by the villagers, who was saying what, when no one spoke the language? Were the villagers considerate enough to speak english to each other so they could understand? All these conversations, requests being politely requested and harshly denied... how did all this go down with no common language?

My guess is that when they were initially met by the locals, they flashed the famous American attitude, and shit went bad fast. Respect is king down that way. You fail to show proper respect (say...by refusing a request or spraying someone with bear spray), you are gonna get hammered. I don't know how much they bothered to learn about the SA culture before they went, and it doesn't matter now. But the whole BOOfuckingHOOO I lost all my cool STUFF!!!
frown.gif
tone rubs me. Roughly and against the grain. Suckers sending $$ are just... suckers.

Regardless of how cool/laid back/awesome you are, in a country like this, you are by definition you are a rich american asshole. Period.

Regardless of how 'nice' the local population is, you are still the outsider. You need to play by their rules.

When you are an outsider, you don't demand anything. Ever. You don't even ask. You buy. Nicely. You want to see my documents? Here is a $10 and this very cool Nike baseball cap. It is my favorite and I want you to have it because I am your guest. Thank you for your hospitality. I will forever treasure this scar from the rock you hit me in the head with.

Sucks that it happened. But not at all surprising. Maybe if these people really are decent and not entitled ameriaholes, they will send some of the bounty back to the people in this place that so desperately need it?
 
^finally someone who gets it. When you are down there you are on their turf and their rules. I dont understand the whole asking for money part. They went there and fucked up. Why should i give people money to replace their stuff? Noone would do that for me and i wouldnt ask anyone to
 
nice post, i too sometimes think americans are douchers but on these peoples blog they seemed like very very nice and awesome people so....
 
The attitude seems to have shifted concerning this story. There are several climbing forums I frequent that have very large threads going concerning this incident, and they seem to mirror what was said on the TGR thread. Almost $20,000 in donations have been achieved, and the three climbers/victims have also just started a PayPal fund to replace their truck. People are calling for pictures, as a picture of all of the stitches or knocked out teeth would go a long way.
I really don't know what to believe. If this story is indeed true and the events unfolded as written, then these three people deserve our sympathy, charity, and now apologies for doubting them. In the next few days I expect to see more information come to light. Whatever happened, I am sorry they had to go through it and thankful they survived. I hope they safely made/make it back to the US and receive the medical attention they need.
 
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