I'm not sure I understand the opposition. The argument that we like to preserve the right to make stupid decisions?
I don't like stop signs, but after a bunch of fatal accidents at a particular intersection, I say, put in a stop sign. Does that mean I favor stop signs at ALL intersections? No.
We have a hell of a lot of mountains in America. I don't see happening, what I see happen repeatedly on Mt Hood, year after year. They appear to have a problem. They are trying to find solutions to the problem, that we do NOT have on Whitney.
I suppose it comes down to whether one prefers to PREVENT heart attacks, or TREAT heart attacks.
The PLB's currently on the market do NOT track one's movement (unless one sets up the SPOT to do that.) You cannot track someone with a cell phone (unless you make the decision to turn it on). You have to activate the PLB's for them to do ANYTHING.
"Take the SEARCH, out of Search And Rescue".
However, the legitimate issue for me, is would the use of PLB's save lives? If it did, it seems straightforward. If it was only useful for recoveries, I'd say no. I've got to look at the Alaska experience and see what that says.
