Skyline Rescue

[Nick-SJM]

Take a look at the most recent RMRU rescue (8-19-12) on Skyline at www.rmru.org
I wonder what information would have discouraged this guy from going up when he did?

[Hikin_Jim]

Nick,

That's an excellent question, but one with no easy answer.

I wonder if interviewing the rescuee would be of any benefit.
-How did you hear about Skyline?
-How did you evaluate the difficulty?
-How did you estimate your ability to handle it?
-Is there anything that might have made you realize you weren't prepared?

In the case of the last rescuee, there might have been nothing that anyone could have done. My impression is that he was really clueless. Consider:
Late start
Dangerously hot day
Only 2L of water

I'd be really curious as to his thought process. What specifically motivated this individual to try the hike under those conditions with so little water?

HJ

[bluerail]

Nice write up Matt....

just unbelievable what had to have been on this guys mind.....glad you found him and it turned out good !

[mjordon]

I wonder if interviewing the rescuee would be of any benefit.
-How did you hear about Skyline?
-How did you evaluate the difficulty?
-How did you estimate your ability to handle it?
-Is there anything that might have made you realize you weren't prepared?

Jim,

I did ask the above questions and the answers were as follows:

A: "A couple of "friends" did it a while ago."
A: "I thought it would be easier."
A: "I did half-dome, so I thought I could do this one too."
A: ...
(After I reminded this guy of the temperature at 7am, the fact that there was nobody else doing it that day, and the clueless amount of water he had - I think a light went on.)

My hunch is that he was on some sort of mind-altering prescription meds and he wasn't thinking straight, this sort of thing happens sometimes, but fortunately it was a solid lesson to:

•Hike with a partner who knows the route.
•Don't hike when it's 100+ degrees out.
•Carry more water and a real backpack.
•Don't rely on crappy GPS - have some basic navigational instincts.
•If you start puking - it's usually a sign that you are doing something wrong.

We all do 'less than genius' things every now and then, but at least he/we made it out ok!

[cynthia23]

He's very lucky he had RMRU to correct his many errors of thinking. Thank you for the difficult and dangerous work you do.

Sometimes with these folks, I wonder if there isn't a subliminal suicidal impulse--like 'death by cop', only it's 'death by Skyline". Otherwise it's hard to make sense of this. Maybe mental illness plays a part.

No, NOT talking about us regulars ... at least not much ...

[Hikin_Jim]

•If you start puking - it's usually a sign that you are doing something wrong.

Nah, too subtle.

I wonder if asking questions like the ones posed above over time would reveal any patterns? Unfortunately, the pattern it reveals might not suggest any remediation. It's hard to reach people who aren't trying to find out. My personal pattern is to try to find out as much information about conditions, terrain, etc. as I possibly can and to plan things fairly meticulously, especially on a "big" all day hike in an area I'm not familiar with. A guy like me is far more likely I think to stumble across warnings.

A guy who hears about it from "friends" and thinks it won't be that hard is far less likely to come across any indication of danger.

HJ

[bluerail]

I want to willingly jump out of a helicopter into places and situations I know nothing about.

[Hikin_Jim]

Steve,

It sounds like the 82nd airborne is for you.

HJ