[Traum]

Ski hill expects $10,000 search cost to be paid by rescued boarder (http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/hill+expects+search+cost+paid+rescued+boarder/7723542/story.html)

I am glad the fellow is found and that he is in relatively good health. But I must say I am happier to see that he has to foot his own rescue bill since he consciously chose to wander off into out of bounds areas.

[604778]

The guy that got rescued is a buddy of my manager from work..

[skyxx]

^ And your point?

[dlo]

At least the bill will be donated to a good cause, he wasn't in the right state of mind when he wandered off, but can't be giving out excuses, hope they can work something out
Posted via RS Mobile

[SilverT]

It looks like he may only have to pay 1/10th of the rescue bill
Posted via RS Mobile

[accordpoop]

Ya so who's going to pay the other 90k?? 10k is a slap on the wrist.

[freakshow]

At least the bill will be donated to a good cause, he wasn't in the right state of mind when he wandered off, but can't be giving out excuses, hope they can work something out
Posted via RS Mobile

I wasn't following the story, what do you mean he wasn't in the right state of mind?

[GLOW]

at least now it might deter people from acting like cowboys going out of bounds that there are financial implications should they choose to go out of bounds and require SAR services

[Traum]

I wasn't following the story, what do you mean he wasn't in the right state of mind?
Apparently, one of his best friends from his hometown (Ottawa) has just been killed in a car accident, so he said his state of mind wasn't quite right.

I'm sure the death of a close friend is a traumatic experience, but I would hardly call that a valid defence against crossing the marked boundaries of the ski areas.

[Gumby]

Apparently, one of his best friends from his hometown (Ottawa) has just been killed in a car accident, so he said his state of mind wasn't quite right.

I'm sure the death of a close friend is a traumatic experience, but I would hardly call that a valid defence against crossing the marked boundaries of the ski areas.
Yeah, "my friend just died, so I'm gonna go do something dangerous (i.e. go out of bounds)"" doesn't make sense to me...

[Traum]

On a similar note, another pair of skiiers -- this time a father and a son -- is in need of rescue while venturing in out-of-bounds areas in Revelstoke:

Rescue operation underway near Revelstoke for out-of-bounds skier and sons (http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Rescue+operation+underway+near+Revelstoke+bounds+s kier+sons/7726638/story.html)

It looks like they'll be perfectly fine. But I seriously hope these guys will have to foot their own rescue bill in its entirety as well.

[nabs]

^^^ father and 3 young sons... child endangerment much.

[melloman]

"Right state of mind" .... even though ALL HIS FRIENDS stayed inbounds. He was the only idiot who went out-of-bounds.

Definitely needs to foot his own bill IMHO.

[noventa]

maybe he had an Empire state of mind. In New York, concrete jungles where dreams are made of!

[falcon]

NS Search And Rescue does not charge for their services and refuse "donations" by the ski hills. Good on them, otherwise people will be too scared to call for help when they get lost.

Any skiing out of bounds is awesome and everyone should do it. Srs. Skiing on piste is gay and boring. Just be prepared and know your terrain.

[GabAlmighty]

^^^ father and 3 young sons... child endangerment much.

My pops and I have been out of bounds a few times, there's nothing like getting away from it all and spending some quality bonding time.

NS Search And Rescue does not charge for their services and refuse "donations" by the ski hills. Good on them, otherwise people will be too scared to call for help when they get lost.

Any skiing out of bounds is awesome and everyone should do it. Srs. Skiing on piste is gay and boring. Just be prepared and know your terrain.

Thank you, at least someone here gets it.

[subordinate]

Be prepared and know your Terrain? :badpokerface:

NS Search and Rescue dropped about 30k in gear to rescue him, and can't recover it ATM.

On top of that, the insane $ spent and their lives risked, all because you wanted some fun from the norm? Go Sky Dive.

[H.Specter]

They actually spent 100k on the search effort, asking for 10% of that is not unreasonable.

[DragonChi]

What kind of equipment did they leave behind? What kind of gear do they use that's one time only?

These are legit questions, I'm curious.

[MindBomber]

What kind of equipment did they leave behind? What kind of gear do they use that's one time only?

These are legit questions, I'm curious.

A story pertaining to the lost equipment.

I imagine the flight operations are a very significant portion of consumable expenses.


VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – North Shore Rescue is abandoning efforts to recover gear used during the rescue of a snowboarder Tuesday.

Crews launched an air operation to try and retrieve the $30,000 worth of gear that was dropped during the December 18 rescue of Sebastien Boucher, but were unable to complete the mission.

Tim Jones with North Shore Rescue says weather conditions weren’t cooperating.

“The safety parametres we put on this are far greater than on a real task because this is only gear, we’re not going after a person or saving a life. This is very essential gear, gear we need to reconstitute for one of our helicopter flight rescue kits, but it’s not going to stop our team from conducting another SAR operation,” he explains.

“It’s a combination of our helicopter flight rescue gear, hypothermia gear, survival gear, rope rescue gear, plus personal packs that were left at a different site, that’s where we were winched out on Tuesday night because it was too dangerous for the SAR techs to go back down and get our gear, it was a very tight situation on Tuesday night just getting us out,” Jones describes.

He says the gear is in two locations on Black Mountain. One location is at 3000 feet where SAR crews were first inserted by long line. The second location is at 1000 feet in a ravine where they found the 33-year-old snowboarder.

Jones says this call required “taking the kitchen sink in.”

“We weren’t sure where the guy was when we spotted the tracks, we didn’t know if he was high up or low down. We anticipated we may have to stay with him overnight, if not for two or three days, because of the snow conditions. We weren’t taking anything for granted on this task,” he says.

Jones doesn’t know when they can make another attempt at trying to grab the gear.

[falcon]

They actually spent 100k on the search effort, asking for 10% of that is not unreasonable.

You don't get it. They aren't asking for ANY of it back. It's Cypress that is trying to get money from him just like Grouse did to some people a few years ago who weren't actually lost but someone called them in from a plane/heli thinking they were. North Shore Search and Rescue is a non for profit organization that relies on private donations, not recovery fees. If I somehow got lost and NSSR came, myself knowing they would try to "charge" me after I would refuse thier rescue.

That being said, skiing in the back country is completely safe. This guy was on Black Mtn., hardly backcountry. He likely went into the trees or something and just got lost because of stupidity. Whenever I go backcountry riding/skiing I have a pack with a beacon, shovel, probe, SPOT GPS, food to last a few days, thermal blanket, water and extra layers. You should also go with other people who have been where you are going (if it's your first time in the area).

Anyways.. I'm not going to argue the with you people whether you think it's safe or not, having had a lot of experience doing it I can say that it is.

[Traum]

If you know what you are doing, and is well prepared for both the task (of back country skiing / exploration / whatever) and as well as the potential consequences, then all the more power to you.

All I'm saying is, when someone has consciously made a decision to go out of bounds, and subsequently finds himself fxxking up and needs to call in the Search and Rescue crew, it only make sense that he pays for his stupidity and at least reimburse the Search and Rescue crew for all the expenses that was incurred during the search and rescue operation.

Whatever happened to responsibility, you know?

[rsx]

People should sign a waiver to go out of bounds giving up their right for any rescue attempts. That should solve it. If you get in trouble out there, that's your choice.

[noventa]

ppl should just stay in the city, where its safe. If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, including the out of bound area at Cypress.

[falcon]

Like I already mentioned, he was not skiing backcountry. He just went really out of bounds... looking at the video how the hell did he make it to where he ended up? :suspicious:

[westopher]

Any skiing out of bounds is awesome and everyone should do it. Srs. Skiing on piste is gay and boring. Just be prepared and know your terrain.
I love my time in the backcountry, but its not even close to for everyone. The fact this guy went alone just makes him fucking retarded.

[MindBomber]

SAR wouldn't be required if people restricted themselves to well groomed ski-hills and manicured golf courses; there's a segment of the population not content with living within the confines of humanity, however, they aspire to push the boundaries and experience wild nature, and occasionally overestimate the abilities they possess or are caught in an unpredictable tantrum by mother nature. When such an event occurs, regardless of how reckless, foolhardy, or little fault the person needing rescue may have shown leading up to it, SAR is there to step in and offer a helping hand to save a life. Requiring a person to pay any portion of the SAR costs involved with an effort they are the focus of defeats its intended purpose, because a great majority would be recovered dead after attempting to evade rescuers and the bill they intend to present. Critics may call the person who ventures into the back country or out-of-bounds (I see little difference between the two, but I digress) a cowboy, an idiot, or anything they like, but in the end what they did is completely legal and only ski hills policies prohibit it. The danger of out-of-bounds areas of ski hills pale in comparison to the danger in areas of this beautiful province many British Columbians' routinely explore, anyway.

North Shore Search and Rescue does not support fines, and will not accept the proceeds from them, but I'm sure they'd accept a donation or support a program focused on expanding back-country safety awareness. Fines are an empty scare tactic to keep people in bounds, when what's really needed is a better education program for people heading out. Scare tactics are free though, education programs cost money.

[gilly]

just saw the video... that guy was totally out of bounds. totally lost.

[gars]

I went up to the Diamond-head area a few weekends ago - in Garibaldi Provincial Park.

I must have seen a good 30 or 40 people going up to go ski-touring, etc. I didn't meet one person who didn't look prepared, didn't bring a backpack with him (with food, water, etc) - and beacon/shovel/probe.

If you're going to go backcountry, like some of the people here said, do it properly. Don't do it at cypress. Do it with someone who knows what they're doing, and be prepared.

[westopher]

Exactly, ducking a fence without a pack of equipment, and a pack of friends that are prepared isn't an appropriate way to head into the backcountry.

[GabAlmighty]

Bunch of squares on RS. Learn to live a little holy fuck.

[westopher]

Sorry sarcasm detector not working? If you are serious though, you can take some serious risks and still not have to be a fucking moron about it. Intelligence shouldn't be mistaken for weakness. Also I'm sure you haven't had friends die in the backcountry if you believe that.

[falcon]

Exactly, ducking a fence without a pack of equipment, and a pack of friends that are prepared isn't an appropriate way to head into the backcountry.

Seymour anyone? Lol... :badpokerface:

[GabAlmighty]

Sorry sarcasm detector not working? If you are serious though, you can take some serious risks and still not have to be a fucking moron about it. Intelligence shouldn't be mistaken for weakness. Also I'm sure you haven't had friends die in the backcountry if you believe that.

Wasn't in reference to what you were saying, i've been pretty much on the same page as you. More in reference to the thread in its entirety.