Regarding the July 31 article, “Hikers Plucked from Glacier Peak”: After reading of the heroics extended to transport what the reporter called “experienced climbers” from Glacier Peak, I felt a degree of sanity needs to be injected.
My first reaction was disbelief that three 20-year-olds with adequate gear, including tent and cell phone, needed any help to weather a one-day delay because of rain. The fact that they might have to go a day without rations as reason to request and get the full emergency response is simply unbelievable.
The next, and perhaps more egregious failing, was in the agency head that determined that their situation – remember, no one in the party was injured – required such a massive effort. Search and rescue volunteers from Snohomish, Skagit, King and Pierce counties were sent. Even the U.S. Army deployed a Chinook helicopter with full crew to pick up these “warm, dry and uninjured” hikers.
As a former Army Ranger, I am well aware of the risks and expense that flight entailed. I wonder if anyone has considered billing these folks for the thousands of dollars in time and equipment expended. The request was baseless enough, but I’d really like to know who in the world decided their inconvenience constituted an emergency justifying a response of that magnitude.
Everett
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