bobmc wrote:To zippitydude
To counter your points.
1 this was not a little day hike as you suggested. It should be classified as winter mountaineering and you should be prepared to spend the night in the forecast conditions.
2 If you would have read my post you could have inferred that I would not take people up there if a storm was forecast.
3 If I owned a house at said hypothetical location. I would surely let them stay. Then I would lecture them all night so that they would never go out unprepared again or they would become so annoyed with my rant that they would gladly sleep in the the garage.
Mt point is If you are going into the wilderness you have to meet it on its terms don't expect anyone to bail you out.
I don't know what the tram policy is but I do think that the tram should have a disclaimer that when there are storms or dangerous weather conditions forecast that they may not be able to take people back down if they wander into the wilderness boundary. Which, I believe is less than a mile away from the tram station.
1. Seriously? I've been out in white-outs at the Tram in the winter and haven't considered it winter mountaineering. I've considered it a fun day hike. I guess now I'm going to have to start carrying a 50 lb. and pull out my sled to carry the fuel and extra food I'll need. Funny but I've even forgotten my stove on the dozens of "winter mountaineering" trips I've done at the Tram. Seems I've been woefully underprepared.
2. This is directed at the Tram, right?
3. I think more analogize to someone staying in your home would be taking people on a bus trip and then bailing on them because the weather was changing. Imagine if you got back to your meeting place and found the bus in the parking lot but the driver was gone. With it was a note that he left because the weather was getting back but he'll be back once it gets better. Oh, BTW, the bus it locked and you can't use it for shelter because you might sweat in it and make it smelly. It it were me I'd light the bus on fire to stay warm.
The Tram is part of the tourism industry here and gave us a black eye. I've talked to hikers and non-hikers in the hotel I work at and NOT ONE thought the Tram did the right thing. What they did is an embarrassment.
