[W.P.T.]

Mt. Hood

I figure if they go on their own free will and something happens, they knew about the possibility of that before they went ... The "This won't happen to me" attitude has killed many people and put many other in jeopardy trying to rescue them ... I also feel bad for the dog who probably had more sense but dogs have this loyalty thing that can get them in the end also if their master isn't the brightest bulb in the box ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

[Ahab]

Mt. Hood

Con't they charge them for all the costs involved? If not, they should!

 

[KEYBEAR]

Mt. Hood

Every individual that thinks the fun thing to do is climb a mountain a large cash bond needs to be in place frist .

 

[FarmerD]

Mt. Hood

Interesting how you Yahoos from the East have such great wisdom and hind sight. What a bunch of whinny losers. FD

 

[2horser]

Mt. Hood

"Ignorance can be cured, but stupidity is forever"
I believe this statement pretty well sums up the people that want to climb mountains in the Winter...
Yup, bill'em for the cost of rescue and smack 'em up side the head for putting the dog in danger..idiots!!!!

 

[grnberetcj]

Mt. Hood

farmer....just what in the hell are you referring to? You may want to read and follow the instructions on that prescription bottle!

As far as the dummies are concerned that went up that knoll in the winter....Bad things happen to stupid people....the owner of the dog needs to be arrested for cruelty to animals if he is retrieved alive.

Curt

 

[grammie]

Mt. Hood

In Arizona,,,,there is what is called a "stupid motorist law"!!!

Everybody here knows what happens when it rains hard and fast in the desert,,,the washes run!!! Very hard,,Very fast!! A foot of water running hard can push your car,,,right off into deeper water,,and then the chances of survival are diminished!!!

When you go by yourself into wilderness areas and then you don't show up where your're supposed to be,,or return home,,,The authoritites will look to find you,,If however,,time and cost get in the way,,,which occurs at about the 14 day mark,,,,if you are gone longer than that,,,the search will be called off,,and if your're still alive,,,well,,,at that point you are left to your own wits to get out!!! or perhaps family members and close friends will continue the search,,,very few people emerge alive after that 14 days!!!

Once you take it upon yourself to do something STUPID,,,don't depend on someone else to risk their life to save your dumb ass.....

AKA Grammie.............

 

[carv]

Mt. Hood

Climbing a mountain in the winter endangers the idiot’s doing the climbing. If there is a problem it then endangers the many many people involved in attempting to rescue the idiot’s. Kind of sounds like cigarettes, but with more immediate and deadly results. I think it should be treated the same, ban it or tax the H*LL out of it. At a minimum make the idiot’s or the surviving family members pay the cost of the rescue effort.

 

[The Rock]

Mt. Hood

All we need more Darwin Award candidates.

Hell trap shooting in this weather is bad enough and almost enough to be Darwin material.

Rock

Jim

 

[chopperman]

Mt. Hood

Amen

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood is the second most climbed mountain in the world (Mt. Fuji is first). A great many people climb it and have no problem.<br>
<br>
Mt. Hood gets dangerous from four conditions:<br>
<br>
There's not enough snow. This invites rockfalls. Late August is a particularly bad time for this, and even earlier in a drought year.<br>
<br>
There's too much snow, like in a blizzard. Winter storms are particularly bad, and can happen within a very short time. And the weathermen are not always right.<br>
<br>
Inexperienced amateurs who woefully underestimate the conditions and their abilities.<br>
<br>
Very experienced climbers who disregard the conditions and overestimate their abilities.<br>
<br>

 

[grnberetcj]

Mt. Hood

So Brian....what you are really stating is:

"Bad things happen to stupid people"

Good points....all 4.

Curt

 

[fritzi93]

Mt. Hood

I feel very sorry for the relatives and friends.

Young men have the silly compulsion to prove how tough and courageous they are. Well, some do anyway. Some young women too. The more dangerous the better.

Years ago, I was into technical rock climbing. To say I was mediocre at it would be kind. But I learned early on that it is much easier to climb into a bad spot than it is to back down. Got a good scare, you might say, and lived to tell of it. Scares, rather, it took a few times, as I'm a slow learner. Thereafter I was more cautious, although it didn't stop me.

In the summers of '74 and '75 I did some climbing in Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mt Elbert, a few other places in Colo. Out for a week or two, back in civilization for a few days, and back out again. One of those years, don't remember which now, my climbing buddy and I had a backcountry permit out of Grand Lake for 10 days, also climbing permits. Last stop on days 9-10 was Jackstraw (I think that's the name), west of the divide. Supposed to be an impressive rock wall there to climb, dunno 'cause I never saw it. We missed the trail and ended up back on the parkway. Screw it, off to a motel for showers and beer.

On the TV news that night in the motel, we heard two women climbers were killed there that day. This was early June, and a boulder was dislodged by snowmelt. Carried them both down. I still remember how sad I was and how sharply I felt my own mortality at that moment.

Do folks into sports like that put themselves in danger? Yes, they do. So did I.

 

[bgf]

Mt. Hood

A high rise window washer was doing his job...without a safety harness. He slipped and fell. As he was passing the upper floors, some windows were opened and he was heard saying as he passed by...so far so good.

 

[superxjeff]

Mt. Hood

They have been saved along with their food source. Pretty smart bringing along a food source just in case. If they got hungry in a snow cave they could have snacked on the dog rather then each other. Jeff

 

[EDGARMCM]

Mt. Hood

Irfner,zarathrusta,& KEYBEAR:

I agree with you guys. While watching the story today I told my wife those climbers should have to post a bond before climbing. There is not only the expense of the rescue but others could lose their lives while trying to rescue the stranded climbers.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Mt. Hood

To give you some sort of an idea of how often Mt. Hood is climbed, one local company alone has rented out over 100 emergency locator units since the three climbers were recently killed. This figure does not take into account other companies renting this equipment, nor the climbers who refuse to carry such equipment.

 

[KEYBEAR]

Mt. Hood

But the real question is why should we pay for stupid things people do . Also this would be a disaster only if one of the rescue people were hurt or the DOG.

KEYBEAR

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Mt. Hood

zarathrusta, there are many different rescue services involved here for mountain rescues and other rescues.<br>
<br>
The primary responsibility lies with the local county sheriff.<br>
<br>
If helicopter support is needed, the 304th Air National Guard Rescue Squadron is used.<br>
<br>
Actual climbers for the rescue are almost always volunteer climbers with mountain climbing experience.<br>
<br>
For search and rescues other than mountain climbing, there are volunteer and paid people with rescue dogs.<br>
<br>
Ground searches are often done with volunteers, who can be almost anyone - hunters, hikers, etc.<br>
<br>
The Civil Air Patrol (a civilian auxilliary of the USAF) used to do a lot of searches, but you don't hear much about them anymore. I don't know if they are strictly involved in only down aircraft now, or what. When I was in the CAP, we searched for anyone.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Mt. Hood

LOL.<br>
<br>
BTW, the cardinal rule is...if you fire your three shots, sit down and don't move. It's difficult enough for rescuers to figure out where the shots are coming from without the lost person wandering around.