NH, two Years, 275 rescue missions, $413,543

[woodsy]

Read all about it:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...ay_for_rescue/

[Wise Old Owl]

Thanks Woodsy, but Norma Love (AP writer) did not do her job. There is no follow up on the situation with the scout & lawyer. The article lacks the information that Fish & Game used to pass on the costs of rescues on Hunter & Fishing Licences and the Hikers were paying nothing. The licences were getting exstream and there was a public outcry to fix this and NH came up with this idea. There is a lot more to this story.

[Old Hillwalker]

In the article it states that that NH can place a hold on your hunting, driving and hiking licenses.If you don't pay the rescue bill. Hiking License? Here in the (pick one) free or die state? Choices: live, hike, seatbelt, helmet, income tax, sales tax. To name a few of our NH "freedoms". But last I looked we don't have hiking licenses.

[woodsy]

Gimme a break with nit picking the writer of the article. so she made a mistake or two.
Here's the reality of it all from Mt Washington OBS:

16:55 Sun Oct 11th
Any kind of change can be difficult to deal with, especially the kind of change that comes in transition seasons. A lot has been written here in the Observer Comments over the last couple of weeks about the transition season and subsequent changes we have been experiencing here on the summit. Some of these changes are obvious. The summit staff has traded vests for down jackets and gloves as temperatures have dropped. The storm windows have been installed to protect the inner windows from snow and ice. Other changes may not be so obvious, especially to people who travel from afar to visit the area.

This became painfully obvious yesterday, as somewhere around 40 to 50 hikers waited for hours to get rides down the mountain. These people showed up (some grossly unprepared for the winter weather) expecting to be able to hop on the Auto Road's hiker shuttle, which typically runs daily in the warmer months of summer. With temperatures yesterday falling into the low 20's and glaze and rime ice forming, that hiker shuttle was in fact not running. In the end, these people were very lucky that Howie, the manager of the Auto Road, decided to have chains put on a couple of the Stage Vans so that people could be brought down.

The moral of the story is that you should never expect to be able to get a ride down the mountain once you get to the summit regardless of the season, but especially this time of year. The Auto Road plans to operate to the summit until October 19, however this is completely dependant upon the weather. Lately, the weather has not allowed the road to open to the summit (they have been open to just above halfway though), and with the current cold weather pattern forecasted to continue through this week, that is likely to continue to be the case. If in doubt, call ahead to the Auto Road and see what their plan is. Of course, no matter what your plans are when hiking, be sure to know what to expect as far as weather on the mountain is concerned. This time of year, the valley can have temperatures in the 50's or even 60's with sunshine while the summit is in the clouds with snow, ice, and temperatures well below freezing.

The bottom line is to be prepared, be safe, and use common sense. As stewards of the mountain, we want to see people enjoy the beauty and uniqueness of Mount Washington, but we want to see them do it safely and responsibly!
Brian Clark – Observer and Meteorologist

[Jack Tarlin]

Um, nothing nitpicky about pointing out major gaffes, Woodsy. Telling readers of the biggest newspaper in New England that they're in danger of getting their hiking licenses ( ) revoked is a pretty ridiculous thing to say.

I've worked for newspapers.

When they get something right, they deserve to be commended. But when they get something quite wrong, there's certainly nothing wrong with pointing
this out.

[rickb]

Thanks, Woodsy. It gives a good overview.

I googled up this one, in an effort to see if there was any resolution on Scott Mason's fine. It was from October 19th. I wonder why the renewed interest?

http://www.nhpr.org/node/27447

The state's 10 page finding referenced in the article would be an interesting read.

Noteworthy to me is how the nanny state of NH can fault parents for letting a 17 year old young man go hiking alone.

Geesh.

[Lyle]

So, according to the report referenced above, two of the three reasons the teen was found negligent was because he 1) hiked alone, 2) his folks allowed him to hike alone, and 3) he didn't turn back when they thought he should have, a legitimate judgment call. In NH this is now considered $25,000 worth of negligence.

All I'll say is that a LOT of us here on Whiteblaze better be awful careful in NH.

[mudhead]

Maine, too.

We have revenue stream issues. Yawl feel free to visit.

I figure this hit the news because the kid's lawyer and the state are talking settlement numbers.

I read another article that quoted a SAR type from CO. Do they have hiking licenses there?

[woodsy]

Have to admit that the article Rick B put up was slightly better written.

Any mainstream reader would have quickly realized that the writer of the article I posted meant to say hunting instead of hiking.
Here, let me fix it for y'all:

New Hampshire is one of eight states with laws allowing billing for rescue costs, but only New Hampshire has made frequent attempts to do so -- even strengthening its law last year to allow the suspension of hunting, fishing and driver's licenses of those who don't pay, according to an Associated Press review.

There, all better.

Kind of ironic that the scouts parents are putting money into a lawyer's pocket instead of the bankrupt NH S&R . Some thanks for finding their kid for them.

[Pedaling Fool]

Settlement number + lawyer's fee = more than the original cost (I would guess).

[Spokes]

Apparently, New Hampshire has forgotten what the collection of taxes are for. Yes, Search and Rescue counts as a cost of doing business.

[Lyle]

I've heard, just through a limited grapevine, that National Geographic Adventure is considering and researching a possible story on paying for rescue in general, and this case in particular. Supposedly, NH is , by far, the most aggressive governmental unit in pursuing these reimbursements.

Of all the cases of truly incompetent people who NH spent money to rescue and could have made their "poster boy" this case probably will be the toughest for them to justify to the public and independent rescue organizations. That's good, the more attention this gets, the better. Will probably garner more contributions to Scott's legal defense fund which has been set up.

[rickb]

Old news, but I just learned that the nanny state of NH backed off its claim. http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Law_...son_040810.pdf