Billy

Thanks for the clarification.

Actually, I agree with you that people who call in SAR because they couldn't be bothered to prepare properly are a menace to themselves and others. I'm just not convinced that Vic fell into this category. Yes, he made mistakes; but calling for SAR when his son began suffering from hypothermia wasn't one of them.

On the other hand, people who refuse to call in SAR because of an overly macho atttitude may be just as bad. I remember a case some years ago when a group of adventurers were trying to reach the North Pole unassisted (i.e. no resupply from aircraft). One of the group fell ill and was forced to turn back; in an attempt to maintain the "integrity" of the adventure, he refused to call for an airlift evacuation and struck out on his own to return to base. When it became apparent he was overdue, Canadian SAR had to go out and find him; it cost us Canadian taxpayers over $500,000 (about $400K US) to satisfy his personal code of honour. ;-) The kicker is, he wasn't even a Canadian taxpayer :-(

Laurence Gonzales, in his excellent book "Deep Survival", tells the story of a US Army Ranger who died on a civilian whitewater rafting expedition, after he fell in the water and just laughed at the civilian guide who tried to rescue him. Gonzales makes a convincing case that it was his Ranger survival training that killed him; because Rangers are so deeply indoctrinated with the notion that having to be rescued is the worst form of failure, he could not bring himself to accept assistance when it was offered. (He also probably didn't realize the danger he was in until it was too late.) Minutes later he was swept round a bend in the river, pinned under a rock, and drowned.

Again, I agree with you that if you're going to indulge in adventures - whether it be climbing a mountain, trekking to the North Pole, or flying an airplane - you should take responsibility for your own actions. Where we apparently differ is that I think that includes admitting when you've screwed up and being prepared to say "Uh, guys, I need some help here."