Save us from footing fools' bills

Cost of backcountry rescue must be recovered from misadventurers who need the service

By MICHAEL PLATT, CALGARY SUN

Last Updated: 25th January 2010, 10:29am

The skier survived a ride on a raging avalanche, cheating death by inches when he came to a rest on the edge of a cliff, 33 metres from the rocks below.

 

He may be the luckiest man in the world, rescued from the edge of a ten-storey plunge that would have certainly killed him, but the only title this skier deserves is selfish jerk.

 

Being extremely lucky doesn’t excuse you from being extremely stupid.

 

The 31-year-old’s decision to ski outside the boundaries last week at the Revelstoke Mountain Resort cost RCMP and Revelstoke Search and Rescue thousands of dollars in time and equipment.

 

The helicopter needed to pluck the man off the mountain wasn’t free — not that the so-called “victim” will ever see a bill, or have to pay a dime towards the rescue costs.

 

In Canada, there’s little anyone can do to discourage those who choose to gamble with their lives, even when a losing bet results in massive public expense.

 

The same thrill-seeking halfwit can be back on the mountain the very next day, treating boundary signs and avalanche warnings with impunity.

 

It’s the Canadian way, and it needs to be fixed.

 

The cliff-edge rescue was only one in a series of out-of-bounds mishaps in B.C. last week, which saw rescuers going after snowboarders and skiers who ignored the warning signs.

 

Every year in Canada’s mountains, search and rescue crews are forced to save dozens of snowmobilers and ski-hill scofflaws, despite avalanche danger bulletins and pleas from snow safety experts.

 

“It doesn’t matter what we release into the media, they just don’t get it, they think nothing will happen to them,” Cpl. Rod Wiebe of the Revelstoke RCMP told the Sun.

 

“In B.C. at present, there’s no way of recovering costs.”

 

The knee-jerk reaction from the sensible masses is to fine the foolhardy, forcing them to pay for their poor choice, and hopefully discouraging others from doing the same.

 

It happens that way in some U.S. states.

 

Last spring, teenager Scott Mason was fined $25,000 after spending three nights alone on a New Hampshire mountain, after wandering ill-prepared into the wilderness.

 

Maine and Vermont also have rescue repayment laws for those who are careless about their own safety.

 

But a penalty-based cost-recovery system has never found favour in Canada, because the rescuers worry it would also discourage those in trouble from calling for help.

 

“There’s a concern it would discourage someone in trouble from making the call right away, because of the cost,” said John Kelly of the Canadian Avalanche Centre.

 

It’s an interesting argument — though the pro-penalty side might claim fear of major fine would discourage stupid behaviour in the first place.

 

And then there’s the system used in European countries, like Switzerland, where the inevitable thrill-seeker isn’t punished, but instead covered by insurance.

 

Insurance covers all sorts of mishaps in the world, some predictable, some less so.

 

It makes sense to add backcountry adventuring to that list.

 

In the European Alps, locals and visitors are asked to purchase rescue insurance for a nominal fee — maybe $30 for the year — in exchange for full protection in the mountains.

 

The cash raised helps cover the cost of rescue, but the fee also helps to pay for manpower, training and equipment for search-and-rescue teams.

 

That’s something cash-strapped Canadian agencies would no doubt appreciate.

 

The financial risk would then rest with the user — not having insurance would mean paying the full cost of the rescue, when things go wrong.

 

And like car insurance, it would allow for stupid decisions and lapses in judgment, without leaving someone on the edge of disaster wondering if he can afford to call for help.

 

Best of all, Canadian police and search-and-rescue teams would no longer be paying thousands of dollars a day, via the taxpayer, to save people who should have known better.

 

In Canada, something has to change, whether through insurance or fines.

 

The cost of backcountry rescue needs to be recovered, from the people who need the service.

 

It’s a lot easier to tolerate a fool, when the fool isn’t costing you money.

 

michael.platt@sunmedia.ca