Posted on 12/17/2006 3:43:18 PM PST by ConservativeMan55
One climber found dead on Mt. Hood
LOL! Larry King is Jewish and a lefty from way back, and a pretty dumb one at that. It's no wonder he was speechless.
I really don't think that's a fair analogy. We all know there are dangers to walking the dog or getting in the car to pick up the kids or go to the grocery store. Those are things we have to do to live life in our communities. We do NOT have to go climb a frozen peak in the dead of Winter and leave our families bereft in order to stroke our own egos or fulfill some wanderlust or need for thrills.
Yep.
And he died a peaceful death most likely - just slipped into unconsciousness.
But I'm sure his family will be wide awake, crying their hearts out for him for months, perhaps years, to come.
What a guy!
I'm sad he died, and I'm sad the rescuers put their hearts so deeply into this only to come up empty-handed. I pray they have a happier outcome when they find the other two, but that doesn't look good either.
I'm only too happy to rescue people in most circumstances, but we're talking about precious resources and the safety of the rescuers. People who are rescued from catastrophes they brought on themselves through dangerous sports, wholly unnecessary risks or grossly negligent behavior should be required to repay the cost of those services.
A nice sentiment and one I mostly agree with. I am also proud of the people we are and the goodness that is in our hearts. Americans always come through big for each other and others around the world.
But surely you're not equating the stumbling of a tiny child into a well with the lunacy of going up that peak at this time of year. And even if we speak only of adults, there is still a big difference between a catastrophe brought on by minor foolishness or momentary inattention than there is by deliberately and with zealous foolishness placing yourself in a very dangerous situation.
I might add that it's rather presumptuous and arrogant for those who overtly choose to do so to assume we will bail them out by risking our own lives by challenging the same conditions in order to rescue them.
Very true, but you left out one thing: the serious risk to those who go out into treacherous circumstances to save you, restitution or not.
And I think people have a duty to their families to not go out of the way to get killed. They give us love and in the exchange of love I think there is an implicit understanding that we will do our best to be there sharing that love as long as we can, not unnecessarily risking the life God gave us to share with our loved ones who need us and depend on us.
Maybe so, but I think hiring a helicopter ride in better weather would have been wiser, if the only objective is to see all of God's creation. I actually think the good reverend sounds like he's trying to justify their irresponsible decision by playing the "G" card.
Bam! as Emeril would say! :>
I agree, sad to say. I think they would have heard the choppers and popped up today. I wonder if they were hanging in there okay and then suffocated with new snowfall over their air vent.
And yet all we heard for days is how experienced and smart these guys are about this climbing and survival stuff.
Well, you can't BS Mother Nature. These men were foolish, and now their families pay the price.
It was that one, because Adam Housley on Fox who is up there and reporting extensively said the cell phone was with the body. He may have slipped when he said that, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out which one it was (that was found) in the first place, since he was found in a cave close to the empty cave that they GPS'd the cell phone ping to and because he was alone.
That's another thing these guys obviously didn't give much thought to when they decided to go on this misadventure. They know the weather can change to the most serious of conditions in a heartbeat up there at this time of year. Did they consider what the cost of a rescue would be and how they would pay some or all of it back? Both spouses work two jobs for five or so years and let the kids be latchkey kids or farm them out to their parents? Mortgage their home? Spend their kids' college funds? Borrow it from their parents and not be able to pay much of it back so their parent's golden years are harder financially? All so some guy can go climb a mountain peak?????
Yes, he was injured. What a surprise.
Or you could head on over to the Afghanistan/Paki border, climb some peaks there and see if you can root out Binny. Now THAT is something I could respect and it would be quite a challenge.
But what you're talking about is all just ego and/or personal gratification/exhilaration at great risk to yourself and the happiness and future of your loved ones.
For all we know, God intended that His mountains be admired from a distance or from the window of a chopper on a good day. There's a reason He makes it colder than death and harsher than the terrain of hell in such places.
Myself, I can touch God by caressing the face of a loving child.
That's because there are a whole lot more people who watch sports than climb mountains. You're using fuzzy math to justify an apples and oranges straw man argument.
Um, obviously they weren't prepared. And their rescue plan sucked. The guys who were on the move knew where the injured (now dead) guy was. The guys on the move should have taken the phone/GPS device. They had a better chance of survival and of getting rescued, depending on how the weather broke for them, which in turn would have improved the dead guy's chance.
Yep, they knew the weather could change and that December was not a wise month to go up there. They went anyway to prepare for a another climb and to prove something, apparently. Well, they at least accomplished the last goal. They proved they weren't ready.
By the way, I have prayed for them, and for their families.
We can criticize their foolishness if we think it should be done. Maybe some others will think twice about making the same mistake if they know they're viewed as idiots. But we pray nevertheless. It's sort of like, "Love the sinner, condemn the sin", or ever how that expression goes.
That also means assuming a high degree of risk. There are at least 175 bodies on Everest of climbers who died trying. While it's sad that these guys died, it's also hard to work up too much sympathy for them since they knew what they were risking and went anyway. To me it's kind of like kids who murder their parents asking the court to be lenient because they're orphans. These climbers are the sole cause of their own problems by engaging in a risky behavior for which they did not adequately plan.
If they were from the south some Yankee would be posting some "hold my beer" and "hey y'all watch this" comments
There's a big difference between making a mistake while doing something necessary or not considered particularly dangerous and a deliberate and knowing placing of one's self into a very dangerous situation just for fun.
I hope you do live to a ripe old age doing what you like best, and rescuing others with no compensation is admirable. But you have no business saying that others who choose a safer course are not experiencing life. You have your own definition of what "experiencing life" is. For others, experiencing life may be some form of artistic expression, like painting or dancing, or perhaps teaching or scientific research or healing people through medicine or accomplishing a great engineering feat. Shame on you for you claiming that your activities are the only ones that can be undertaken by those who choose to experience life to the fullest. What we derive fulfillment from is most often a reflection of our character. If your idea of fulfillment centers squarely around your own physical enjoyment of thrills, spills and adrenaline, that explains your character very clearly.
Since you're not a climber and you know nothing about the topic, let me edify you:
Mountaineers climb mountains covered with snow and ice, that is the nature of the sport and is not an issue. All mountains at all times are "slippery".
Accidents happen in all sports, and it's apparent here that Kelly James had an accident, which delayed their progress and exposed them to a storm they'd otherwise have escaped.
I've yet to hear a single climber or SAR team member say they did anything obviously wrong.
Well said.
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