[Thermalseeker]

These guys sound like Darwin Award candidates to me.

By that standard anyone who gets in a car and drives down the road is a Darwin Award candidate.

Should the authorities have searched for and rescued the folks in Gold Beach, Oregon who took the wrong turn? Should the authorities have searched for the couple who was recently found in a submerged car just off the interstate?

What it really boils down to is there are a lot of people, too many, IMO, who are so afraid of dying that they don't know how to live. Taking calculated risks is part of living a full life. Some folks like to live full lives. Others would rather sit on the couch, eat cheesey poofs and watch the world pass them by.....

[dakine]

"Others would rather sit on the couch, eat cheesey poofs and watch the world pass them by....."

What kind of couch?

[Man50D]

Should the authorities have searched for and rescued the folks in Gold Beach, Oregon who took the wrong turn? Should the authorities have searched for the couple who was recently found in a submerged car just off the interstate?

Poor analogies. The folks in Gold Beach didn't intentionally take a wrong turn for the thrill nor did the couple from South Carolina intentionally submerge themselves to fulfill some burning need.

This ignores the more obvious fact millions of people travel everyday and yet a very tiny fraction are killed. Most of them do not die because they meant to put themselves in dangerous conditions. The weather conditions that occurred on Mt Hood during the climb created a far more dangerous situation then traveling by car.

[L,TOWM]

Taking calculated risks is part of living a full life

Climbing a 11k foot mountain in winter is not a "Calculated Risk". It is utter stupidity, right up there with riding a mororcycle, traveling at speeds in excess of 100mph when possible, up California's Pacific Coast Highway wearing shorts, a tank top, and not wearing a helmet.

Not that I would know anything about that...

The thing is, there were not any headlines for my buddy that will function at a 4-6 year old mental/intelligence level for the rest of his life.

And one other thing - skydiving, sail planing, SCUBA diving, all fun and risky at the same time. But if you screw the pooch doing these things, you don't put others at risk to save your dumb a$$.