To Carry Beacons or
Not to Carry Beacons:
Responsibility is the question.

Copyright Findawish.com
02-21-07

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Introduction:
Before reading this article and definitely before sending an email, read the sources and pledge sections.

Here we are again talking about people and responsibility.  Being responsible is a very broad subject.  Responsibility for yourself, your community, your society, your groups, your family (both extended and immediate on different levels) and so on.

People should be responsible for themselves and that is the very top of the list, the bottom of the pyramid; it is the glue that hold life together.  If you can't be responsible for yourself then everything else is going to fall apart in a hurry.  Redundant to those who understand responsibility, but most people have no idea what I'm saying in this paragraph.

That brings us to this article.  People are taking recreational trips up mountains, through the wilderness and off road adventures* and costing the public $6,000+ an hour when they get lost, whether it is their "fault" or not.  First of all, it is ALWAYS their fault. They choose to put themselves in that position in the first place.  Even if it is weather related; even if it is the one in one billion chances; they chose to take themselves from their house and into that environment.

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If you have made it past my ranting to this point, the real reason I wrote this article is to talk about the safety concerns.  They are trying to get people to wear beacons if they are going to climb higher than 10,000 feet.  According to the article:

The Mountain Rescue Association says:

"The climber equipped with the bare essentials is safer than someone carrying a tent, stove and sleeping bags," Rollins adds. "When you do mountaineering, you're literally counting grams."

If that is the logic I can make extremely strong cases against life jackets, hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, welding masks, safety brackets on table saws, and on and on and on. 

If you can't figure out how to carry the beacon efficiently you have three choices:

Build a better beacon.

Train enough to be able to carry the beacon.

DO NOT GO.

In general I'm really against the general public (government and related groups) telling people how to live their lives.  One can argue that everything affects society.  Not wearing seatbelts can raise insurance rates, which increases demand on hospitals raising their rates causing more people not to pay when they are injured in turn causing everyone else to pay even more.

Beacons are different though.  Recreational activities have a direct affect on the Average Joe's wallet.  To the tune of $6,000 an hour in direct costs.

I saw a quote in the article too.

"Rollins said 99 percent of the Monday rescue was a volunteer effort that cost taxpayers nothing."

Anytime a taxpayer hears this they know that someone is lying.  I don't know exactly where the lie comes into play or how grandiose 99% is, but that is a ridiculous number that can't be true.

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I do understand that beacons can create a false sense of security.  People are notorious for being naive.  I think that the pay off, though, of getting the many people who don't wear beacons to wear them vs. dealing with the false security of the few idiots who do wear them will pay off in the long run. Seriously, if you can't pack a beacon with you why are you on the mountain in the first place.  It's like going into an underwater cave and not packing an air tank because it is bulky.

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People need to be rescued.  I understand that, respect that and fully support that. It is kind-of hard to prepare for a broken leg when you are in top shape and experienced.  The best way to prepare for that is to stay home, closer to help and that is just ridiculous.  It's another thing to weigh 350lbs at 5'10", go on a hike in the wilderness and break your leg.  In that instance staying closer to home and help is your responsibility.

In this instance the questions: Are you wearing a beacon? Are you in shape? Are you experienced enough for the altitude you are trying to reach? Have you followed procedure, filled out paperwork, checked the weather, sought expert advice and so on?  Yes?  Let's go out and save you.  No?  Let's go out and save you but you're paying for it...or at least half of it.

Part of being responsible is accepting the consequences of your actions, especially when things go wrong despite your absolute best efforts.

I'd really LOVE to hear someone argue against this article.  Let me have it by clicking here.  If you change any part of the linked address above, including the subject, I won't get your email.  I probably won't reply directly to you either...I may post another article though and send you the link.

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* (I'll keep the part about people getting lost driving to myself as I feel I will really tick a lot of people off when I say that anyone that finds themselves lost on the on road today's systems without being prepared are IDIOTS.  IF YOU TRAVEL WITH YOUR FAMILY BE PREPARED.  IDIOTS.  It is too bad that guy died, and others have died, but they are responsible for themselves and they didn't take that responsibility seriously...so their family suffered and some of them died.)

I remember the story about the highway in a state being shut down this year and people being stranded for 24 hours or more.  THEN people had the GALL to complain that the state wasn't helping them when they were hungry and tired and so on.  Traveling requires you to be responsible.  Don't travel if you aren't prepared to change tires, get stuck in traffic or an accident, have your vehicle break down...make it season specific, warm stuff for winter, cool stuff for summer...yada yada.  Think about it, though.  Why would you put yourself in a situation that you may starve to death or kill yourself simply because you didn't think about the consequences of your actions?  ESPECIALLY when you have a family to take care of and are responsible for?

OK I'm finished.

OK I'm finished.

Email me! I want to hear your argument; why you think it is OK to play chicken with you and your family's life.

Here's what I have heard so far:

An "annonymous" email with simply:

"Accidents happen...lay off."

My reply:

Any approved safety class for everything from working as a mechanic to flying an airplane tells your out right, accidents do happen but they happen because you are not being safe.

Thus the term "freak accident."  It would be a "freak accident" if you were driving your car with your family in the middle of the summer with all of your safety and preparations gear in the vehicle...and an ice ball of airplane toilet waste smashed your car.  There isn't much you can do to prepare for that.  Dying because you went on a long trip to somewhere you really don't know how to get to without the proper provisions is not an accident.

An email from "Jim" only:

"So I have to drive around with all this stuff in my car in case something 'might' happen?"

Do you have to stay warm and cool each day?  Do you have to eat and drink water often?  If you think you're being smart and say "no" because of some obscure reason...Do your children, the ones who depend on you for their very lives, have to do those things?  Do you travel a all?  Yes?
Then the answer is YES.  What an inconvenience to you.  You are the reason people die for no reason.

An email from "Sally Johns" (does that sound made up?

"You are so hard core, there is a softer side."

Dying for no reason is pretty hard core and that's what I'm writing about.  Not being responsible for your family is pretty hard core.  You didn't offer a "softer side" example but I'd love to hear it.

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Sources

Don't email me if you think I am bashing people who want to go out and experience the world.  I'm not.  I'm bashing unqualified people for going out and experiencing the world in such a way that they put themselves and everyone trying to find them at risk.  Take the time to get qualified and use common sense.  Wear a beacon.  It's that simple.

Before you send any other comments, remember this too:  Stupidity is not in the eye of the beholder. Stupidity is believing that you are not stupid like the rest of us.  And yes, I am doing something about it.  I am posting my opinions for public comment which evokes public thought.  Things may get worse through this "public thought process" but at least they are changing.

My Pledge

As you may notice in the many articles to come, I absolutely can not stand people that have an opinion about something they know very little about or didn't take the time to research before giving their opinion.  I pledge that I will not write a single article about a subject that I don't know enough about to see several sides of the issue.  If you think I am missing something, I'd love to be the first to know about it.

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