At the risk of beating a dead horse, I feel that Mr. Ralston did make one serious(from a survival point of view) goof. He didn't "file a flight plan." I say this from the point of view of a caver. While caving and mountain climbing aren't the same, caving does have its share of inherent risks; some of them with deadly consequences. I was a caver for a long time: rec, survey and teaching. It was always stressed to me and I stressed it to my students -- "file a plan." I would always explain that if you don't, you put your loved ones in very hard situation: trying to decide if your late return is intentional or not.

If you want to be in communicado for a while, fine -- file a plan. I am certainly *not* saying that you can't have impromptu activities. And I certainly don't want to second guess Mr. Ralston's thinking. I'm sure he weighed all the pros and cons before his trek. I'm just not sure *I* would have left out the "file a plan" step.

Just my two cents.

Torus.