Julian Sands spoke of mountaineering 'dangers' months before disappearance

Julian Sands spoke of the dangers of mountaineering in one of his final interviews.

The 'Room with a View' star was confirmed dead last week after his body was found, six months after he was last seen in the Mount Baldy area of California on 13 January.

Late last year, he told how many of his friends had stopped going mountaineering because of the dangers, partly due to climate change.

Speaking to the Radio Times magazine at the time, he said: "Pals I used to climb with have stopped going to the mountains, partly because they find, with climate change, the rock faces have become much more unstable, partly, it’s age.

"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."

Julian also told of "chilling" experiences when he found human remains during his mountaineering expeditions.

He said: "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.

"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."

Julian, who was a keen hiker and mountaineer, was reported missing after he failed to return home from walking in the Mount Baldy area.

Last week, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said: "The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results.

"We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands."

Eight searches by ground and air took place to look for the 'Leaving Las Vegas' actor but they were hindered by poor conditions in the area and were even halted in March due to the risk of avalanches.

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