Otherwise, I think we all assume that if we're in known trouble, people will try to come to our assistance.
True enough on the clear expectations. But, we spend more money rescuing people in the winter or summer in inner cities than we do on these operations.
Although I hate that people are hurting, I find these rescue operations amazing. We can pinpoint where someone is by the use of a cell phone to within a few feet. We now have helicopters that can hover at these high elevations. And we are learning more and more as a result.
There are things that I hate that we spend taxpayer money on, this is not one of them.
"If there are cases where we're simply not going to attempt a rescue, then we should set it out. IN BOLD TYPE"
And here's where your theory goes haywire: the mountain rescue teams will simply do what they've always done - which is to assist fellow climbers in distress - but without the "coordination" function of Oregon county sheriffs.
You'll also have to get your law passed at the federal level to prevent DoD and NFS/NPS participation.
And you'll need a provision in the law to prosecute mountain rescue teams going after their fellows in distress, because they'll do it hell or high water. You need to actively and aggressively prosecute unauthorized SAR activities.
And then you'll need to get new government supported SAR teams in place, because no mountaineer in his right mind is going to work with a government or a program that selectively rescues some climbers and allows others to die.
You see, you don't know the first about the climbing ethos.