Cliffed Out...Sheep Hunters Rescued

[S-3 ranch]

“”
if you put yourself in an unreasonable situation that is unsafe, particularly if the rescue is costly or dangerous for those that are undertaking it, you may find yourself facing a bill. Again, this will vary from state to state, but it’s important not to abuse the system.”’

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Absolutely.

The USCG policy is such that they don’t want somebody delaying “calling for a rescue” because they don’t have the money. They don’t want to put value on a life. I’m in the military and even needed to check to see if we charged for rescues (and looked up USCG policy too). That’s the only reason I knew of that policy because I wondered about costs.

But certain states/counties could have a cost structure in place.

I even think Garmin and other satellite communicators have a yearly insurance option that covers incurred rescue costs.


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[S-3 ranch]

Absolutely.

The USCG policy is such that they don’t want somebody delaying “calling for a rescue” because they don’t have the money. They don’t want to put value on a life. I’m in the military and even needed to check to see if we charged for rescues (and looked up USCG policy too). That’s the only reason I knew of that policy because I wondered about costs.

But certain states/counties could have a cost structure in place.

I even think Garmin and other satellite communicators have a yearly insurance option that covers incurred rescue costs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That YouTube guy that sent a on In reach and caused fake a SnR by helicopter to get views and guys like this and some snowboarders who self destruct, are changing policy
I was wrong about USCG , but state and local agencies will charge you for doing stupid stuff ,

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Lots of infallible individuals on this site and it is extremely awe inspiring to be in the presence of so many that have never made a less than desirable choice in their lives let alone while hunting.

 

[LongWayAround]

That YouTube guy that sent a on In reach and caused fake a SnR by helicopter to get views and guys like this and some snowboarders who self destruct, are changing policy
I was wrong about USCG , but state and local agencies will charge you for doing stupid stuff ,

Can you name some state or local agencies that charge for rescue?

 

[smg]

Lots of infallible individuals on this site and it is extremely awe inspiring to be in the presence of so many that have never made a less than desirable choice in their lives let alone while hunting.

Well said!

 

[fwafwow]

I count on myself making a mistake or having an accident, and I’ve paid several times for the Garmin rescue insurance.

 

[Choogiak]

Lots of infallible individuals on this site and it is extremely awe inspiring to be in the presence of so many that have never made a less than desirable choice in their lives let alone while hunting.

Look at the picture again. That kind of stupidity deserves to be called out. We aren't talking about some kind of natural disaster, getting lost, weather event, etc. Glad they are safe, but everyone I've talked to that has seen it has the same reaction, "wtf were they thinking!?!"

 

[mporter012]

Thank God they had an SOS. Don't go anywhere without that thing

 

[Felix40]

Lots of infallible individuals on this site and it is extremely awe inspiring to be in the presence of so many that have never made a less than desirable choice in their lives let alone while hunting.

The idea of being stuck on a cliff must be pretty foreign if all you do is hang out your house in the suburbs while chatting about gear with your online friends.

 

[Felix40]

Look at the picture again. That kind of stupidity deserves to be called out. We aren't talking about some kind of natural disaster, getting lost, weather event, etc. Glad they are safe, but everyone I've talked to that has seen it has the same reaction, "wtf were they thinking!?!"

Sometimes that’s what sheep hunting looks like.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Sometimes that’s what sheep hunting looks like.

lol what?

 

[Felix40]

lol what?

They live in cliffs.

 

[Ucsdryder]

They live in cliffs.

Yep. Look at the picture again. That’s not “what sheep country looks like”. And even if it is, that’s not a justification for climbing down a sheer cliff. I’m curious to find out why they were there. I would assume they were after a dead sheep.

 

[Antares]

We can all have opinions on the decision making that lead to that situation, but I’m glad it’s a story about a rescue rather than a recovery.

 

[Rob5589]

Precarious to say the least. As to the why they were in that position, who knows. In over their heads most likely. I've been in EMS for 31 years and will say people do unsafe stuff all the time. Many times it ends much worse than a helo ride to safety.

 

[ColeyG]

I watched this whole event unfold from the beginning. I'd spotted these guys coming up the ridge they were rescued from about 2 hours earlier. We were sitting around camp and I saw the C130 start to circle the area and knew immediately these guys had pushed the button. Sure enough, shortly after the Herc started circling, the Pavehawk showed up, dropped a couple of PJs on the ridge and then started hoisting people out.

The hunters were making their way along a fairly narrow ridge and came to a spot where it cliffed out in front of them. They tried to descend the face to get around the steep step on the ridge and, obviously, got into a spot where they felt they couldn't go back up, down, or around safely, and pushed the button.

I try not to armchair quarter back these things much as I wasn't in their shoes. In summary, I think this was a totally avoidable and unnecessary rescue that was driven by some poor decision making and ram fever. Glad things worked out for everyone involved and hopefully some lessons regarding judgement and decision making we learned by the hunting party.

Their best stroke of luck was that the weather was good enough to fly. One day later and they would have been on their own for the next 3 days at least. Counting on a rescue in the mountains as part of one's contingency plan is foolish at best.

 

[kad11]

Can you name some state or local agencies that charge for rescue?

I read this article or something similar a while back:

Who Pays for Search and Rescue? Behind the Tricky Economics of New Hampshire SAR | Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC)

Rescues are on the rise in the New Hampshire backcountry. We dig into the tricky economics of SAR and how to avoid getting billed for your own rescue.

www.outdoors.org

 

[CorbLand]

Seeing stuff like this makes me grateful that I am afraid of heights. I don't have to worry about ending up in that situation because I wouldn't have been within 10 miles of it.

 

[fwafwow]

Seeing stuff like this makes me grateful that I am afraid of heights. I don't have to worry about ending up in that situation because I wouldn't have been within 10 miles of it.

+1