Search and Rescue

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I’m appalled at a current lawsuit that is making headlines. Back in February a French Canadian couple skied Kicking Horse Mountain in Golden, BC. Kicking Horse is a challenging mountain, and they showed an extreme lack of intelligence in that they chose to ski out of bounds. They got lost…the husband stamped SOS in the snow…no one saw the markings for some time, and it took four days to locate them. This isn’t a little local hill in Vancouver, this is a big mountain with loads of wilderness surrounding it. Sadly, the woman froze top death.

Now, the husband has launched a lawsuit against the mountain, the RCMP, and most disturbingly, against the volunteer Search and Rescue crew.

The various BC Search and Rescue groups in BC are to be commended for their dedication to public safety and I am often amazed at the idiocy that some people show when they enter the woods. In Vancouver, every year, many people go for a walk in the woods, ski out of bounds etc, and think that because they are within easy reach of the city….should anything happen, it will be easy to get out…or someone will find them easily. Often they are ill prepared to deal with the conditions they will face. What they fail to consider is the cost associated with their foolish behaviour. That cost is not merely monetary, it is also personal. There is extreme risk to Search and Rescue crews attempting to locate lost skiers and hikers.

Local Vancouver mountains are finally cracking down on skiers who head out of bounds and these individuals, if caught, are banned from the hills. I have always thought that it should go further….there should be a cost associated with such rescues a responsibility by those who are lost to compensate somehow. The danger I suppose in that is that people might fail to use that cell phone to make an emergency call if they thought they would be liable for costs.

The North Shore Search and Rescue group trains diligently under difficult conditions to ensure they are ready for any challenges. Many times they recover bodies and not lives. They are to be commended for their efforts. They are volunteers, they dedicate their efforts to the protection of others and receive no compensation for risking their own lives to save others.

And now some idiot thinks he has the right to sue them and BC Search and Rescue groups are suspending their operations while they seek legal advice on third party liability insurance.

This couple went out of bounds, and rather than take personal responsibility, he now tries to sue those who “voluntarily” help people and have no legal obligation to do so… and as a result, others may suffer because voluntary assistance has now become risky in a new way.

This seems monumentally wrong!