The local Sheriff in any county is responsible for rescues and cannot legally abandon that. Not all SAR teams are volunteers, some are paid professionals. As long as there are good people willing to volunteer, SAR will continue it's work. Have you ever considered becoming a SAR volunteer?

Your fee plan might have some effect if it was a very large fee; $50 is way too little. There was a time when every Eastern Sierra trail had a wilderness ranger doing daily patrols, but budget constraints have killed that.

How about closing down access to Mt. Whitney and post a gate-keeper at the trailhead? Yikes! Oh, I can hear the screams of protest.

Here's a really radical idea. Refuse permits to anyone not possessing a certificate that they have received current survival/mountaineering/etc. training from a legitimate outfit. That at least might cut down on the number of people going to Whitney without the necessary training and skill sets.






Last edited by Bob West; 05/18/18 03:04 PM.