Would I use it? Absolutely. You have the phone for a reason, and to say that I wouldn't act in the interest of self preservation would be a lie. However, if the conditions were too dangerous, funding not available for a rescue, or there's not a team on K2 at the right time, then fine. I die. It's nothing to hold against anybody else. Maybe by using the phone someone will be able to find my body in the future. I could say whatever I want here but when you're in the moment it would go out the window. I don't fault people for using the phone, nor would I fault people for not engaging in a rescue mission in dangerous situations like this.
Would your parents? Would your friends? Would your employer? What is "too dangerous?" What risk of life by rescuers is acceptable to you for your own? For the group above? Where is this "funding" coming from? Did you provide it? Or are you gonna hope your friends can GoFundMe a lifeflight? That team on K2 - what are they doing there? What are their plans? How much is your situation impacting theirs? Here's my point: You can make a decision for yourself. You can't make it for anybody else. Everyone else has different feelings about the risks they'll take and why, and those people all have family and friends with their own feelings about risk and the climbing community is all about "you are not the boss of me it's my life to live leave me alone mom." But you'd fuckin' call. "I want to live. Who can I obligate into helping me?" I suspect it's because y'all are willfully ignoring the obligation by acting as if it doesn't exist. It's not about you. It's about everyone touched by that phone call. And my whole argument is that mountaineers - particularly the celebrated ones - presume an awful lot while pretending they don't.nor would I fault people for not engaging in a rescue mission in dangerous situations like this.
nor would I fault people for not engaging in a rescue mission in dangerous situations like this.
What would be your opinion of Rescue Insurance? This is a company which apparently handles rescue missions in places such as Nepal, Mount Everest, etc., with the following clause: Just learned that this is a thing. If a climber ends up a situation needing rescue, and has this kind of insurance policy, does that change your opinion at all?a. Company reserves the right to determine, in its sole discretion (i) whether a Traveling Member’s condition is sufficiently serious to warrant Medical Transport Services, and (ii) the mode of transport. Company shall not be under any obligation to provide more than two (2) such transports to any Member in any twelve (12) month period (for Family memberships, the number of transports are limited to (1) transport each for a common accident or two (2) transports in the aggregate). Company shall not be under any obligation to provide Medical Transport Services if, in Company’s sole discretion: (i) the Traveling Member is not reasonably accessible and cannot be transported safely or is located in a region that is not safely accessible (Traveling Members who become ill on cruise ships must disembark at an accessible medical facility or port prior to transport).;
Most places? It's required. As I recall, Krakauer couldn't climb without Outside Magazine paying his. The National Park service requires it of outfitters and the NPS itself has talked about requiring it of all climbers since 1993. Pretty much any park with a "climbing fee" (Denali, Rainier, Yosemite, etc) has the recovery insurance rolled up in it: The funds generated from Mount Rainier Climbing Pass sales are used to run the Mount Rainier Climbing Program. Funds are used to: Protect the mountain's delicate and unique alpine environment Staff the mountain's high camps with climbing rangers Staff ranger stations with climbing rangers and other personnel to assist climbers in registration Maintain a clean and healthful upper mountain free of human waste Fly human waste off the mountain from collection points and dispose of it properly Provide rangers who can rapidly respond to incidents on the mountain Nanga Parbat? No climbing fee. Everest? $11,000 permit alone. Tomek Mackiewicz raised 3200 euros to spend a month on Nanga Parbat. Divide that by the number of people and it's almost cheaper than getting sherpa'd up Rainier. You can barely get up Kilimanjaro that cheaply. But here this guy is, leaving his wife and two kids behind and staking about a week's worth at Club Med to hang it all out off of "killer mountain." Thank you for exposing why this bugs me more than it should: it combines the "my friends are my life insurance policy" ethic of the irresponsible adventurer with the "pay me for my vacation" ethos of those fucks that always hit me up to "sponsor" their trek up Rainier. It's two different ways to avoid paying your own way.Where does the money from the climbing fee go?