Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Who is gonna pay for the SAR?

Last May, I posted a NASAR (National Association for Search and Rescue) position statement on the other message board. It addressed the question of who should pay for SAR, particularly in the cases where the subjects appeared to have taken outrageous risks. The recent Mt. Hood tragedy has naturally precipitated the question again.


On Saturday, Howard Paul, the PIO for NASAR, forwarded a Connecticut newspaper article to all MRA (Mountain Rescue Association) members. The article concludes with "In their day I'm sure many detractors regarded Ferdinand Magellan, Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong as reckless risk takers. I don't like to see anybody die at sea, on a mountain or in space, but I'd also hate to live in a world where people never challenged themselves to explore new horizons."

The point being that people who take inordinate risks shouldn't be treated differently from those who get into trouble in other ways. That's a position supported by all of us who are involved in SAR.