I just do not get it. You would think it would be common sense you would have some kind of homing beacon in the event of avalanche, or if they fell into a chasm or something. At least then it would be easier to find them and increase the chances of finding them alive. Instead resuers spend countless hours and resources scouring entire mountainsides with no real rhyme or reason trying to find them. I just do not understand.
2006-12-28 09:58:18 · 6 answers · asked by Jaybo 2 in Sports ➔ Other - Sports
Here is what someone from our town had to say in the Letters to the Editor section of our paper:
"As I grow older I find myself wondering why people with unquestionably more education than I make the decisions they do.
Three experienced climbers set out on a climb they were not familiar with, in a narrow weather window and chose not to spend the few dollars to rent a locator device. This was their choice, and if the locator device were the size of a suitcase it might have made some sense to me, but it is closer to the size of a cell phone.
If this were the end of the puzzle I wouldn’t be writing this letter. Given the fact that the State of Oregon requires that motorcycle riders wear helmets, and all automobile drivers and passengers wear seat belts, and the amount of public money spent on this search and rescue mission, I can’t help but shake my head when the governor of our state publicly states that he is not in favor of making locator devices mandatory for all Mt. Hood climbers. At the least, locators would considerably shorten the duration of rescue missions, saving the state countless dollars and reducing the risk for the searchers.
I do hope our governor will reconsider, or at the least, that future climbers will choose to spend the few dollars for a locator."
2006-12-28 10:08:41 · answer #1 · answered by cb2006 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you go out and take part in this kind of activity, you know the risks involved, and make sure you've got a radio, survival gear, told someone the route you're taking, arranged check-in times etc. You'd probably already have a beacon or flare etc in your kit.
If you don't make these kind of preparations, frankly, you shouldn't be doing this kind of sport. Stupidity gets you killed, that's just tough.
2006-12-28 10:09:25 · answer #2 · answered by InitialDave 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is actually strongly suggested when climbing mountains to have beacons and GPS locators on each member.
However, it is not a law and unfortuneatley there will always be those people who think it can never happen to them and they will refuse to carry it.
2006-12-28 10:06:58 · answer #3 · answered by plantladywithcfids 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't rid of the world of stupid behavior unless you get rid of all the stupid people. Their friends won't allow us to do this, so we just have to shake our collective heads and ask, "why don't they do something that would make sense?"
"There are many things in life you can survive -- stupidity is not one of them." or so said Lazarus Long character created by Robert Heinlein.
2006-12-28 10:44:32 · answer #4 · answered by idiot detector 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that what you call the human factor , people think they are better then they are and don't need any safety devices everyone thinks that they will make it out or back from what ever sport they are doing at the time
2006-12-28 11:02:40 · answer #5 · answered by Patrick D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excellent question! Also, why aren't they required to pay for all assistance rendered?
2006-12-28 10:13:37 · answer #6 · answered by Red C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋