View Full Version : No helicopter rescue for hiker with thumb injury
rlharris
08-15-2009, 08:23
Duh! :p
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=No+helicopter+rescue+for+hik er+with+thumb+injury&articleId=eb0d7912-ba05-4d08-b64e-429f26b4a560
I guess it takes all kinds. I got a chuckle out of some of the reader comments.
Pacific Tortuga
08-15-2009, 11:03
Let the hiker know the cost and do they have enough on credit cards to pay for it :-? up front.
Pray that no one with a real injury needs help at the same time.
Tell them what my H.S. coach would tell us, "tape it, suck it up, cry to your mom when you get home because no one here gives a hoot, now get back out there".
Up at Stehekin, WA. on SAR's we would tell people we do can not treat stupidity, I'm sure that policy has changed do to lawyers.
The Old Fhart
08-15-2009, 11:44
ABC - Ambulate Before Carry.
kolokolo
08-15-2009, 15:13
Let the hiker know the cost and do they have enough on credit cards to pay for it :-? up front.
I agree with Pacific Tortuga. Give the guy the choice to pay his way, but only if there is no one who actually needs to be rescued.
wrongway_08
08-15-2009, 15:15
They should charge him $2,000.00 just for being stupid enough to call 911 for that.
Stick him in a retirement home and let him rot.
Trailweaver
08-16-2009, 01:48
You've got to be kidding! If his legs work, where's the problem here? I tore a ligament in my leg last year and hiked myself out on ibuprofen and gritted teeth.
Wolf - 23000
08-16-2009, 04:41
I think this is a great example of why I'm against SAR. It takes all types of people to who enter the wilderness and wants everyone else to risk their safety and pay a huge SAR bill because he had a little bit of pain and wanted a ride. Is there anyone here who has not fallen off a mountains or been bruised up while hiking in the mountain?
Now watch out, I sure the guy is now going to try to sue the SAR/police department because it is his right to be a little BIT##.
Wolf
Requesting rescue for an injured thumb? You gotta be kidding me. That pussy needs to rub some dirt on it, tape it up, suck it up and drive on. He can go to the ED and whine about it when he gets off the mountain. Where do these idiots come from?
saimyoji
08-16-2009, 11:00
Requesting rescue for an injured thumb? You gotta be kidding me. That pussy needs to rub some dirt on it, tape it up, suck it up and drive on. He can go to the ED and whine about it when he gets off the mountain. Where do these idiots come from?
........texas
shelterbuilder
08-16-2009, 12:57
Another "entitlement wimp"!
Is it any wonder that SAR's around the country want to charge for "rescues"? But, hey, just have the guy put the charges on his Visa - and then he can keep working to pay off the charges (if he's working, he can't be out in the woods getting hurt, right?)
That pussy needs to rub some dirt on it, tape it up, suck it up and drive on.
Yea, I guess that about sums it up.
Panzer
I hope nobody gets his name out to the public.
A Texan, yet. (Must be from a big city :p).
shelterbuilder
08-16-2009, 14:38
I couldn't help but notice that most of the posters here are over the age of 40 (myself included). I can remember the "pre-cell-phone days", and I remember telling my family and friends that, if I got hurt, I'd have to get myself out somehow. That risk was just part of the cost of doing business, so to speak. And there have been times when I've had to limp out on a sprained ankle or a twisted knee...after you kick yourself for being dumb, you just buck up and do it, because you take responsibility for yourself.
Did I miss something during the last 30 years? Has something REALLY changed, and now I don't need to take responsibility for myself anymore?
sheepdog
08-16-2009, 14:40
If a rescue is out, could you bring me a pizza and a six pack??
Feral Bill
08-16-2009, 14:58
Helicopter rescues aren't just expensive. They are dangerous for the crew (especially in mountains) and a noisy intrusion in the wilderness.
earlyriser26
08-16-2009, 17:01
Give the guy a break. With his bad thumb he couldn't hitch his way out.
Old Grouse
08-16-2009, 18:10
I don't care what his credit limit is. SAR crews should not endanger themselves just because he can pay for it.
sheepdog
08-16-2009, 20:55
Did I miss something during the last 30 years? Has something REALLY changed, and now I don't need to take responsibility for myself anymore?
Yep. If a hurricane hits your area, the government needs to give you an airconditioned tent, a hot meal and a bed within 2 hours. You have a right to be comfortable.
beakerman
08-17-2009, 00:20
........texas
Shoot I'm a darned yankee living here in TX and I'm embarrassed by this twit.
Requesting SAR for a busted thumb....it darned well better have been cleaved off his at hand and an unstoppable torrent of blood shooting from the bloody mutilated stump where it used to be!
Yeah I can't imagine making a call for that. What a wimp.
ShelterLeopard
08-17-2009, 00:43
Last time I checked, I didn't much use my thumbs when hiking...
I helped a guy who walked about 5 mi out of the whites on a badly twisted ankle and had to have surgery on it (probably from walking on it) the staff did not want to evacuate because of the abuse of the system, every tourist with a hangnail and a cellphone wants to be rescued, so a two week recovery turned into surgery and 5 months of no work
peakbagger
08-17-2009, 09:02
The trail he was injured on is what I use for "training runs" for folks who want to do Mahoosuc notch as a dayhke. Its crack between two adjoining mountains about 100 to 200 feet deep with shear walls on at least one side and darn steep on the other. The boulders are smaller than in Mahoosuc notch so there is not as much underground crawling but its still a fun day with ice in the caves all year round. I highly recomend it for experienced scramblers as a day hike on a hot day.
Once you enter the gulch, there is no way out without technical gear. It would be very tough for a helicopter to even access it, let alone pull someone out. Once someone reaches the end of the gulch and climbs out of it, there is a woods road about 20 minutes away.
I expect fish and game gets a lot of these calls every year but are publicizing them more often.
saimyoji
08-17-2009, 11:18
Last time I checked, I didn't much use my thumbs when hiking...
i use my thumbs all the time when hiking...its my helicopter rescue dialing finger. :rolleyes:
Midway Sam
08-17-2009, 11:26
Last time I checked, I didn't much use my thumbs when hiking...
Ever tried to use trekking poles with a bad thumb!? :D
That's awesome. I also loved the mention of some of the other ridiculous requests they've gotten.
He must be a transplant or an urbanite. We have too many of both here.
skinewmexico
08-17-2009, 20:09
D*mn carpetbgger. He may live in Texas, but he sure ain't a Texan. We're getting re-colonized from both directions.
I'm Just guessing... This guy might have had something mentally wrong with him. Maybe the authorities did not want to mention that. That might explain it.
Panzer
This guy got a helicopter rescue. SAR & the pilot did an awesome job. :banana:banana:banana
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-hiker-s-utah-rescue-pg,0,2608898.photogallery
Jester2000
08-21-2009, 19:32
Love it! I will say to those who think this sort of idiocy is of recent vintage that it's entirely possible that this kind of stupid has existed in one form or another for quite a while, but that advances in technology now mean that we actually hear about all of this nonsense.
My favorite part of the article was this:
"Last year, a woman requested a rescue when she could not find her shoes."
It would have been funnier, though, if she had been calling from her house.
My favorite part of the responses is currently being replicated on whiteblaze:
He must be a transplant or an urbanite. We have too many of both here.
D*mn carpetbgger. He may live in Texas, but he sure ain't a Texan. We're getting re-colonized from both directions.
. . . where people from Texas can't possibly believe that he is actually really from Texas, as if Texas is somehow a moron-free zone.