True survival story

[Doc]

Interesting report on the first two personal locator beacon rescues in the US.
Unfortunately, both on the same bloke!


http://www.adirondacklife.com/template/OnlineFeatureDetail/assetid/31417

 

[bambodoggy]

This bloke sounds like a bit of a muppet....sorry to sound rude but he does... He seems to have taken spare tent poles but no emergency rations, waterproofs, dry bag for his sleeping bag and is wearing non-waterproof boots in winter!!!! Clearly I can only comment on what the article says but he does strike me as a nutter!
I know weather has a nasty habit of changing in a hurry and without notice but he doesn't make any mention of checking detailed forecasts.... he seems to just leave his details (one plus point for him) and then head off regardless!

My fear with using the rescue beacons is two fold:
1) People will go where they really have no business being at their level of competance (like this chap)
2) In time there will be many false calls and this could mean that genuin emergencies are missed or delayed....or that charging is introduced which may be off putting in a real emergency.

I can just about see that his first use was sort of valid and if that's all that had happened then I think he'd have been ok legally but to then go back a little while later in that weather with minimal kit and on your own is not just foolhardy but plain negligent and I think that's why he was charged by the law enforcement people.
I don't dispute that he used the locators in the right way both times and at the right time....my issue is that he shouldn't have been there in the first place - see point 1 above.

Just my opinion anyway....

 

[Doc]

I don't know the area beyond what I read on the report, but, on the info available, I agree. I think he overestimated his abilities. And then did it again.

I think most of the folk on here would have succesfully achieved a self rescue.

 

[shinobi]

I know weather has a nasty habit of changing in a hurry and without notice but he doesn't make any mention of checking details forecasts....

Maybe he was checking the weather forecasts for Birmingham.

Martin

 

[bambodoggy]

Martin.....

Nuff said....lol.... :rolmao: :rolmao:

Mind you....seeing as I now know you've read this thread...what's your take as a member of a search team Mate? Am I being a little harsh on the guy? Or is he a muppet?

 

[bambodoggy]

I think most of the folk on here would have succesfully achieved a self rescue.

Yep.....or at very least had the nouce not to make the same mistake twice in a row!!!! :?:

Edit: Just had a mooch about on the official "Adirondack Forest Preserve" website, it looks a beautiful place and very wild. They discuss Ice fishing in winter so it clearly gets a bit nippy in the winter. Not the sort of place I'd be going alone unless I knew what I was doing......I might even wear long trousers for there in winter!!!!

 

[Gary]

Yep.....or at very least had the nouce not to make the same mistake twice in a row!!!! :?:

Yep, which makes the guy a real ........... muppet!

 

[Adi007]

Just as important as preparation before you leave is the ability to learn from mistakes.

The problem with gear like PLBs, mobile phone and GPS and so on is that people rely on them too much and use them frivolously. The number of calls that mountain rescue get in my neck of the woods from people on the with a mobile phone who are just feel tired or have had enough is now just plain crazy.

The comment in the article that I like best is the one about the outdoors not being a theme park where people have paid admission ... :roll:

 

[shinobi]

Having had a re-read of the article, establishing some technical back up, looking in my reference notes, I can draw the following conclusion...

He's a Muppet ):

Only having this article as a source material, reading between the lines the bloke seems to be one of a growing group of outdoors enthusiasts that will substitute technical gadgetry over a bit of savvy. The sort that will buy a top-range GPS system but not know which way North is. It is all too easy to believe the salesmans patter and place themselves in situations where the equipment will fail, leaving them out of their depth.

That's not to say that this equipment doesn't serve a purpose, it does. it's an aid, not a crutch. There is a growing problem particularly in mountain rescue teams, where people are paniccing when it gets foggy, wet or even just tired and using their mobiles to call Mountain rescue teams. If they just sat still and thought about their situation, they would calm down and be able to get themselves of the mountain without assistance. They might be cold wet, even have to stay on the hill overnight, but they wouldn't come to any harm.
Mobiles and locator beacons are only to be used when Human life IS in danger. Not because something could happen.

That's my 2p on the subject,

Cheers,

Martin

 

[Adi007]

Having had a re-read of the article, establishing some technical back up, looking in my reference notes, I can draw the following conclusion...

He's a Muppet ):

Only having this article as a source material, reading between the lines the bloke seems to be one of a growing group of outdoors enthusiasts that will substitute technical gadgetry over a bit of savvy. The sort that will buy a top-range GPS system but not know which way North is. It is all too easy to believe the salesmans patter and place themselves in situations where the equipment will fail, leaving them out of their depth.

That's not to say that this equipment doesn't serve a purpose, it does. it's an aid, not a crutch. There is a growing problem particularly in mountain rescue teams, where people are paniccing when it gets foggy, wet or even just tired and using their mobiles to call Mountain rescue teams. If they just sat still and thought about their situation, they would calm down and be able to get themselves of the mountain without assistance. They might be cold wet, even have to stay on the hill overnight, but they wouldn't come to any harm.
Mobiles and locator beacons are only to be used when Human life IS in danger. Not because something could happen.

That's my 2p on the subject,

Cheers,

Martin

Well put! :ekt:

 

[bambodoggy]

Having had a re-read of the article, establishing some technical back up, looking in my reference notes, I can draw the following conclusion...

He's a Muppet ):

Nicely put! lol :rolmao:

 

[Doc]

I have read of cases of hillwalkers calling for help on a mobile, and being able to give their exact latitude and longitude, yet still not having a clue where they actually are. You guessed it. Brought the GPS. Forgot the map.

 

[arctic hobo]

What gets me about it is that he's on his own... fine for a trip in a harmless area, but he gets rescued, and then has the arrogance to go back out on his own... with no backup plan. :roll: