2 bodies found on Niigata mountain believed to be missing father, son

Unfortunately, there were too many bad decisions made by the father.

Sad to read this.

Too young to die.

Very sad. Reminds one that such excursions are never to be taken lightly. In the wilderness, it’s just you and you alone.

Its always better to take an experienced outdoors person when hiking-camping-mountain climbing. makes the experience more pleasant and less dangerous. Really sad to hear about these two, but at least they died together and not alone.

Aly, i suspect that one died before the other, which would have been horrible for the surviving one (no matter who passed first). Absolutely horrible news, RIP

Really curious what happened here, he called his father that he was going to descend, so perhaps they slipped and fell? Have to wait for the results from the autopsy.

extended the search area after finding a note at the foot of Mt. Matsudaira indicating the pair were heading to the top of the 954-meter mountain, unfit for novice climbers.

Note? Im sure here they are referring to the mandatory sheet everyone has to fill out before climbing that mountain. Now it sounds like some sort of goodbye note.

Very sad ending.Things can go wrong when not familiar with the new location.

Could be murder-suicide...

Not really many details in this article. How did they die? Did they die from exposure? Have a fall? Or, is their something more sinister behind them both dying together? What?

at least they died together and not alone.

Romatic as your sentiment is, we come into this world alone and we leave it alone. RIP.

Aly, i suspect that one died before the other, which would have been horrible for the surviving one (no matter who passed first). Absolutely horrible news, RIP

good point.

Romatic as your sentiment is,

Not romantic- just trying to find something positive to say about a bad situation, that's all.

we come into this world alone and we leave it alone. RIP

True, but whichever of them passed first had company until the last moment

Such horrible news. I hoped they’d find them after a day or two. RIP.

They are still trying to figure out what are the cause of death since they found their body yesterday around 11:20am.

The local police of Agano said they were aware of the situation around May 6 at 6pm but the father has reported/consulted the Agano police station  on May 5th at 9:20am (9 hrs earlier) and they apologized for the delay response.

Unless the father, or both of them, fell and died I find it hard to believe -- especially with a phone -- that they couldn't make it out of there alive, and suspect there is more to this than we're hearing. I mean, I suppose if you have absolutely no clue, to the point where you should not be going hiking even in a local park, they could have gotten lost and not found their way out and died of exposure, but I have to say it's awfully suspicious.

So sorry for this, poor kid.

zichi

The mountains are not that high? 

Height has nothing to do with danger. Even small and "safe" mountains can be dangerous if you head off trail or part of it is washed away etc.

That said, I agree something doesn't sound right. I can only imagine that the father made some really bad choices to end up in such a predicament and/or his or the son's health was a contributing factor early on. (The article does mention the father made a call, so if that was the case, it's not included inthe story).

My advice to newbies - carry a whistle, the louder the better. And a flashlight, to be used sparingly in a emergency. Both will get you noticed. Some brands of packs have whistles built in as part of the webbing.

Also, be aware that animals and sometimes irresponsible people can create trails that might fool you into believing they're the main trail. Particularly on mountains that are seldom climbed (I've no idea about Matsudaira San, but it looks like some the trails there are a little sketchy, and extra growth due to hot weather will make them worse). If the trail you are on suddenly "disappears" or becomes dangerous, go back the way you came, unless you really know what you are doing.

ReformedBasher - Height has nothing to do with danger. Even small and "safe" mountains can be dangerous if you head off trail or part of it is washed away etc.

Yeah yeah, yeah! And, people die on escalators! However, that does not explain why this father and son died, nor does it explain why they were in found dead, even though the father had a phone with him. As stated before, there is more to this story that is not being revealed.

Here's a report in Japanese from someone who climbed that mountain at the same time. They say that there was snow from 80% of the way up and that it was easy to lose the trail.

https://www.yamareco.com/modules/yamareco/detail-1456196.html

Could be murder-suicide...

So why the phone calls then? Hypothermia would be my guess leading to disorientation and death. Like the local police said at the time

Mt. Matsudaira indicating the pair were heading to the top of the 954-meter mountain, unfit for novice climbers.

Death by misadventure.

Yes, death by misadventure. No proper equipment, a 6 y/o on a mountain like that. Poor kid. His father really made an awful mistake.