The majority of SAR folks are volunteer. They buy their own gear, use their own gas etc.

The military choppers, manpower etc are already paid for if they are on a search or not. Where there is usually extra expense is by the Sheriff's Dept as they are responsible for heading the search. In some cases the lost folks will be billed if they were real boneheads.

Insurance is a good idea.

Legislation is lame. Move to Europe if you want to live like that, where
baseball bats and pointed knives are registered.

The weather on Mt Hood can change all by itself regardless of the weather
around it. It is one of those risks you can't completely avoid. It is an hour by hour judgement call on what you think will be coming next.

Carrying
a lot of what if gear may slow you to the point of getting into real trouble.

A beacon may help, but if you are in a position where rescuers can't
get to in bad weather, without a cell or way of communicating the direness
of the situation, you may just be leading them to their death. They can't
tell the difference from "oops i broke my ankle and need some help
down when the storm clears" and " My buddy has altitude sickness with crackling rails and bloody sputum and needs to come down NOW"