Over the course of the past year, as Inyo County Search and Rescue has tackled challenges ranging from body recoveries in technical terrain to the coordination of a massive multi-agency search mission to the usual spate of long, cold, overnight medical emergencies at Trail Camp, our team has begun to realize its role not just in responding to disasters, but in working to prevent them. Limited resources make it difficult for our small group to reach the wider public, but we hope that through this newsletter, pamphlets distributed at local visitor centers, and a new informational sign at the Mt. Whitney trailhead, we can begin to have an effect on the mentality of those who venture into our mountains.
As call after call makes its way through emergency dispatchers to our automated calling tree, it's easy to pick up on the pattern.
Overdue hiker, party separated, subject not seen since yesterday at 6am. Overdue climber, separated from partner, last seen yesterday at sunset. Patient with AMS, abandoned by party, needs assistance down from Trail Crest. This is not a coincidence. It's almost become a joke on our team: Oh, there's a callout. Let me guess. They split up?
Mountaineering alone is a choice that anyone should be free to make, as long as they understand the risks and responsibilities associated with being on their own. Yet traveling with others entails a different set of risks and responsibilities. When you start a hike, climb, or ski with a group, you are accepting a share in the outcome of that adventure. You have a duty to work together, to protect one another, and, in the event of an emergency, to help each other in any way you can. There may be circumstances in which the only way you can help your partners is by temporarily leaving them. But in the vast majority of cases, the safety of your group is greatly diminished when you split up. If your partner is sick, stay with him until he feels better or help him descend. If your partner is slower than you, adjust your pace. Nothing -- not even the summit -- is more important than all of you reaching the trailhead together at the end of the day.
Everyone has heard the old acronym about what to do if you get lost: Stop, Think, Observe your surroundings, and make a Plan. But there's an equally common-sense tenet of mountain wisdom that seems easier to forget: if you're hiking with a partner,
STAY TOGETHER.
Please spread the word.
-- Julia Runcie, 2014 Team Captain
