Actor Julian Sands discussed the dangers of mountain climbing in one of his final interviews before he disappeared during a California hike.
Sands was found dead in the wilderness outside of Los Angeles in late June, more than five months after he went missing during an outing at Mount Baldy, officials 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,” Sands told Radio Times in what Variety called his last U.K. interview.
“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 and it’s a much more deflating experience.”
The English-born Sands, who was 65, was known for films such as “A Room With a View” and “The Killing Fields.” He was reported missing on Jan. 13 and, after numerous searches by rescue crews, his remains were discovered on June 24 by civilian hikers.
Sands’ conversation with Radio Times took place six months before his remains were found. The interview appears in the magazine’s latest issue.
“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 said.
“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.”
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