"think of all the sports and hobbies that should be banned because of risk (1.sky diving, 2.hang gliding, 3.hot air ballooning, 4.football, 5.race car driving, cliff scaling, scuba diving, spelunking... on and on"
I agree with you in part. The part where the participant is putting only himself at risk. i.e. 1 thru 5. The other activities require rescuers to put themselves at risk when things go horribly wrong.
If, as you state "fellow club volunteer responders (and the rescue equipment)absorb the costs of these rescues", then they should not be banned.
However, if the circumstances are so dangerous and wrecklessly life threatening - can we ask that participants take all necessary precautions to ensure their own survival?
i.e. Race car drivers have to follow safety checks before being allowed on the track. Sky divers have their chutes and the weather conditions checked.
I wish only success for the rescuers and grieve for the families' nightmare.
It's quite probable they did. They were said to be experienced mountaineers. No matter what precautions you've taken and what supplies you carry to meet any challenge, accidents can happen which require more than what you have in your arsenal to meet or equipment which tests out perfectly fine can fail on you.
I've heard that when you hike down into the Grand Canyon in the summer, a ranger will prevent you from proceeding past the last water source, unless you have water bottles filled with adequate amounts of water. But still people get sick or injured and have to be rescued. I've hiked there in spring and fall and this wasn't the case, but temps are not severe then.