Bee,
Almost half my outdoors time is in the snow. My friends and I save people most winters from themselves, saving the taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Last winter, there was a woman up on Baden-Powell summit ridge in white out blizzard conditions by herself, prepared for a summer day hike only colder, whereas my friends and I were hauling around about 30# of this and that. We got her down off the mountain but not without her freaking out once because a slick traverse. She told us she would have never have made it off the mountain without our aid. I would like to say this is the only time this has happened but it seems to happen at least once a winter. Mostly from people following us to some way off the grid spot where they can't descend safely or are hopelessly lost without neither map nor compass.
I believe, if SAR was called out on this there should have been some type of penalty.
