Actor and outdoorsman Julian Sands spoke about the dangers of mountain climbing in one of his final interviews. In January, Sands had gone for a hike in the Mount Baldy area of the Southern California mountains. When he didn’t return, he was declared missing, and after extensive searches, his remains were finally found last month. Though this was expected, the discovery confirmed that Sands had died at the age of 65, finally bringing some closure for his grieving family members.
In an interview with Radio Times last year, per the NY Post, Sands commented on his passion for mountain climbing. Similar to how he would be found by hikers in the area months after his disappearance, Sands oddly mentioned how he’d personally come across human remains and other sights which he described as “spooky.” While it’s not clear exactly what led to Sands’ passing while hiking in the area, actor was not oblivious to the risks that came with the dangerous activity.
“I’ve found spooky things on mountains, when you know you’re in a place where many people have lost their lives, whether it be on the Eiger or in the Andes,” Sands is quoted as saying. “You may be confronted with human remains and that can be chilling. It’s not necessarily supernatural, it’s possibly all too natural – what I would call hypernatural. You’re in the presence of big nature and big nature is revealing itself in all its power. It can take us over a threshold of hypersensitivity into a realm of natural forces.”
Further addressing the dangers of climbing, the Warlock star added, “If you don’t really have the desire, the focus for climbing a route if you’re not absolutely committed, it becomes much more dangerous.”
Related: A Room with a View Gave Julian Sands the Role He Was Born to Play
Julian Sands Has Been Confirmed Dead at 65
NBC
Reportedly, Sands is one of seven people who’ve died in the Mount Baldy area since 2020. Disappearances have also led to more than 100 search and rescue operations conducted in the area. After Sands’ remains were found, his family would release a statement addressing the news.
“We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer,” the statement reads.
Sands’ brother, Nick Sands, was one of the first family members to address the disappearance. Shortly under two weeks after Sands went missing, Nick Sands said that he had accepted that his brother had passed, though he also found it fitting that it would be in the Mount Baldy area, given the actor’s love of nature.
“He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone,” Sands’ brother said at the time. “When in L.A., the Mount Baldy mountain range was his favorite place, he would go there as often as he could, Julian liked to say, ‘I have never had a holiday but I do rest occasionally.’”
Nick Sands added, “Well he’s resting now in a place he would truly approve of. It was the hills and mountains where Julian really revived, hiking in the Yorkshire Dales leading on to him climbing iconic mountains like the Matterhorn and the Eiger, technically challenging but high reward.”
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