I enjoy going out on my own and wouldn't want to make my neighbors pay when they rarely make it out of Anchorage.

might as well make people pay to have the cops come, or the fire dept. take free parking off the board, make everyone pay for everything, perfect capitalism, and leave no dollar uncollected.

But the Mat-Su -- which charges for ... responses to motor-vehicle accidents

That's a rather odd quote.

What is the Mat-Su?

Plenty of people encounter risky situations just living life in the Valley. Big as West Virginia, the Mat-Su boasts three mountain ranges, three major river systems and sprawling stretches of tundra and forest to get lost in.

might as well make people pay to have the cops come, or the fire dept. take free parking off the board, make everyone pay for everything, perfect capitalism, and leave no dollar uncollected.

Hate to break it to you but you do already pay for the police, fire department, and free parking in town . . . taxes anyone?

To me being charged for a rescue is no different than being charged for an ambulance ride to the E.R. Both cost money and you as the client should have to pay for a part, if not all of it.

The difference is that as it currently stands in the US, most rescue groups are publicly funded services whereas EMS outfits are privately run. Therefore, you would naturally have to pay for that ambulance ride because it's a private business and not tax-supported.

Actually it's more like some rescue groups are partially supported by public tax dollars.

It's a borough. Don't know if that corresponds to a county in other states, or what, but [..]

Rescue operations must be supported by income from indirect sources. Charging an upfront rate acts as a deterrent to use the services which almost certainly will result in an increase in fatalities after the fact. When people know they will have to pay part of their next 30 paychecks for someone to come get them they will not call a SAR team until the situation reaches a critical stage. By the time the team gets there the client may already be dead and if the client is not, the rescue will certainly be much more difficult. But when it comes to rescuing stuck ATV’s and the related, that’s a different story. If life and limb are not at stake, sure charge a fee.

See, because you all in the US are calling for government help to come bail your asses out, the Goverment gets to call the tune, and it will get worse unless you reject this "FREE" government help.

I guess its a two sided sword.

If you are really in a dangerous situation, then you should be able to call rescue, to get you out, without worring about having to kill yourself soon anyways, because you are homeless because of the fee for it.

but on the other hand, if rescue is free and easy, it lures - stupid - people into doing things they should not do, thus costing everyone money, and worse - probably endangering the lives of the rescuers.

It should be decided on a case by case basis, wether a rescue should be paid or not.

idiots that go into the mountains without a clue, or stupid SUV riders, should pay, so that they learn.

But an experienced climber, that simply has bad luck?


that said, i am european, so im used to "free" health care and stuff, but rescues in the mountains are still extra, i think. so i am insured via the german alpine club. should i need a heli, i will get it, but i will damn well make shure that i do not.

But is that really common? it seems not. I have seen and heard so many cases where people simply call the rescue, just because they think they probably will not make it, without even thinking about the dangers for the rescueers, or simply turning around, and spending the late evening on the easier part of the descent.

qwert

samglass wrote on 01/05/2010 07:17:57 AM:

Making them pay for a rescue is a great idea.

How about gumbies pay full-boat but bonafide no effin way to avoid that situ type stuff is covered by the state.

If some guys belay gets iced by a 15' swell of 90 mile an hour snow and ice and he's stuck on a ledge with no place to go then we pull out all the stops to get him.

If gumby joe caver who is 6'1 and 200 pounds decides he can handle a 150' long tube called the birth canal then the rescue is on his coin.

Same with the climbing party that goes up on a big wall and leaves behind essentials like cold weather gear and water. They pay to be rescued.

I think blatant, "Oh! No way! Someone really was dumb enough to do that?" stuff should be on the rescued tab. But I think serious accidents that are shown to be unavoidable are no charge.