Please read the article a bit closer. They weren't talking themselves out of the situation they were calling out - ie. making noise to ward off the precesnce of the bear -- BIG BIG difference. Since the first 2 took the brunt of the attack it is likely that they surprised the bears by their presence and that any noise making they were doing was not effective. I quite imagine that with a group of 7 teens, they were doing a lot of talking especially as they were organinzing themselves to cross the stream.

I find the attack most interesting as there has NEVER before been a documented attack on a group larger than 6 (not 4) people (Dr. Stephen Herrero has studied and documented EVERY bear incident in NA since the start of Yellowstone NP). The fact that this was a sow with cubs probably explains the actions of the grizzly. It would be interesting to note the terrain they were in, was it a blind spot? Did they chance upon a berry or salmon feeding area? The attack occured at 8:30 pm as they were lining up for a stream crossing so there would have been good light. Bears often feed at daybreak or dusk.

I find the tactic used by NOLS also interesting, I would like to know more about it. There were 7 other students and 3 instructors some 6 miles away. I guess they must break the larger group up into smaller units. This group had a PLB so at least they were able to communicate the emergency; it was activated about 1 hour after the bear attack. NOLS as well as other outdoor groups have these month long courses (sometimes longer) used to cultivate young outdoor leaders. This portion of the training had them alone without an experienced instructor (as if that would have changed ANYTHING in the attack at all is only conjecture). They are aged 16-19 so it appears unlilkely that any were qualified to handle guns. I don't know of ANY of these outdoor schools that will even permit weapons on any of their courses - full stop - period. So discussion about having firearms in this situation is a non-starter.