Normally, when a Yellowstone tourist disrespects animals, nature, and park rules for the sake of a selfie, they are banished to Instagram's Tourons of Yellowstone page. But a Washington man got more than just touron (tourist + moron) status when his dangerous disregard for park rules landed him a week in jail.
The 21-year-old gentleman, Viktor Pyshniuk, was on a mission earlier this month, intent on getting close-up photos of Steamboat Geyser — the "world's tallest active geyser" — even though signs are plastered all over Yellowstone National Park warning visitors to stay on the boardwalk and keep a safe distance.
But as the tourist approached dangerously close to the geyser, looking for the best photo-op, a park employee took advantage of his own photo-op, taking some shots of the man —which he then sent to park police.
From USA Today:
According to court documents, a law enforcement officer for the park was dispatched on April 19 after Pyshniuk was photographed by another park employee after he had "clearly crossed over the fence" and was walking up a hillside to within 15-20 feet of the Steamboat Geyser. After Pyshniuk stated that he was trying to take photographs, the park officer showed him signs saying that it was illegal to stray from the public boardwalk and explained the danger of doing so due to mud pots, heated steam and water in an unpredictable geothermal area.
Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick further emphasized those dangers at Pyshniuk's sentencing, saying that the sentence imposed was to deter not only him, but others who may have seen him and thought it was okay to disobey park safety rules. …
According to Yellowstone National Park, more than 20 people have been killed in accidents with some of the park's 10,000 geysers, hot springs, steam vents and geothermal pools. In 2022, a 70-year-old California man died after having entered the Abyss hot springs pool. And in 2016, a 23-year-old Oregon man died after slipping and falling into a hot spring near the Porkchop Geyser, having strayed more than 200 yards from a boardwalk in the Norris Geyser Basin.
Besides jail time, Pyshniuk was also "placed on two years of unsupervised release," banned from the national park for the next two years and fined $1,500.
Previously: Touron who thought it was a good idea to try and pet a grizzly bear gets swiped — not once but twice (video)
