Dare You Take on Quandary Peak Alone, My Instagram/Facebook Story Will Provide Tips That Could Save Your Life
UPDATE.
I’m back with an update for my social media story about the thrill-seeking people who climb Colorado’s 14ers alone.
After much research, I’ve come to the conclusion that in the last decade, there have been 57 deaths on Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains. A good majority of those were solo hikers/climbers.
My initial story about the University of Colorado student who fell off Mount Harvard and survived is a testament to the determination and willingness to sacrifice that search and rescue teams have in these dire times. She was hiking alone in snowy conditions and fell 150 feet. She was then pinned in between two boulders. She broke every major bone in her body besides her left arm, which she was able to use to dig out her cell phone from her backpack and call for help. Twelve hours later, after laying immobile in the freezing-cold temperatures, Amy Chen was airlifted to safety.
This Friday, I’m going to Quandary Peak to talk to Charles Pitman, the mission coordinator for the Summit County Rescue Group, about the dangers of taking on these mountains alone. I’ll be chatting with him on a live Facebook video. His insight will be very beneficial to anyone who is allured by Colorado’s towering mountains enough to find the confidence to climb them solo.
Last week, I stumbled upon an experimental mapping program called Tableau Public. According to the company’s website, it is “a software company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States, that produces interactive data visualization products focused on business intelligence.”
Many journalists have started utilizing Tableau to display data in an interactive way. One good example of this is with the “Gun Deaths vs. Gun Laws” map that was produced by CNBC in February. The map shows that in places where there are stricter gun laws, there are fewer gun deaths.
Within the Tableau there is a storyboard option. I’m going to utilize this to tell the story of just how deadly Colorado’s 14ers are. I don’t want to ruin it and talk about it any more than I already am because quite frankly, I’m thrilled with the way it is turning out. I originally said that I would use Vero to curate story information, but that was until I found Tableau. Once I have the story complete, I can upload it to the Tableau Public server where anyone can see it and interact with it.
As those of you who read my previous blog update know, I will be using Instagram to create a story with about ten different shots. The reason I am choosing Instagram over Snapchat is due to the location I will be producing it from. I don’t trust that I will have service in the back-country, so I will shoot each shot individually and then upload them to Instagram once I get back to my car. When it’s completed, the video will be around 1:30 in length.
Here is a visual of how I plan on utilizing Instagram’s story feature.
Wish me luck with my live interview with Mr. Pitman! And until next time, stay safe on those mountains.
