If they are suicidal, why not choose some other way to do it that wouldn’t endanger the lives of would-be rescuers, cost thousands of dollars and put their families through prolonged anticipation until their bodies are finally found? They would have to be very arrogant, glory-hungry and selfish. Or . . .
just plain stupid. If they are just plain stupid, would laws against allowing people to climb dangerous mountains at certain times of the year do any good? Not sure how this would be enforced. Perhaps jail time and fines for anybody caught in violation to make examples of them, but then that probably wouldn’t have any meaning to the profoundly stupid.
Question: Why does it have to be a choice between “suicidal”, “arrogant”, “glory-hungry”, “selfish”, or “stupid”? Why isn’t there a category for “shit happens”?
You never set off on some sort of expedition and thought you were prepared, only to have shit happen and you get kicked in the teeth? I haven’t heard anything that said that these guys were appallingly unprepared (e.g. summertime day hikers going up Mt. Washington in shorts and t-shirts), or that they behaved with stupidity, other than deciding to climb a mountain they’d never climbed before in the middle of December. But they were reportedly experienced climbers, so apparently they felt they could handle it. And so far, as far as I can tell, they’ve pretty much done things right: dug a snow cave, left notes saying where they were going, took along a cell phone with a working battery. Is that “stupidity” or “arrogance”? Or just “self-confidence”? Sometimes self-confidence turns out to be misplaced when shit happens and hindsight suddenly becomes 20/20, but I don’t think that merits flaming them for being “stupid”, “arrogant”, or “selfish”.
As for Mt. Hood needing to be off-limits during certain seasons, according to the Mazamas Club their winter climbing season starts January 1, which is only 2 weeks later than when these guys set out. Also, this mountaineering website notes, under “Winter Climbs of Mt. Hood”, that “Mt Hood has the best winter access of all the climbs in the Oregon Cascades.”
And the CMU Outing Club tried a winter climb of Mt. Hood, only to have the weather shut it down.
So it’s not like these guys were doing something stupid. They tried a winter climb, the weather shut it down, but unlike the CMU Outing Club, they didn’t make it back out.
I’ve never set out on an expedition that had the slightest possibilty of my frozen corpse ending up at the top of a mountain. If they were experienced mountaineers, that just makes me think they came down with a massive stupidity attack. Wouldn’t experienced mountaineers check to be absolutely sure that the weather was going to be ideal for such an expedition for at least twice as long as they anticipated the climb to take? Wouldn’t they carry a radio that could pick up weather forecasts that would alert them in ample time to turn back at the slightest chance of trouble?
Didn’t they see the movie where the two guys do the same stupid thing and one guy ends up trapped up there and left for dead by his buddy? After seeing that, I don’t how anybody would ever consider climbing a cold, dangerous mountain when they’ve got a warm house with a comfortable sofa and a television with a decent sized screen. But that’s just me.
I took the opportunity to climb Mt. Fuji back in '03. It’s a 11,000 foot peak, IIRC. The temp at the base was in the 70’s, farenheit scale.
It took me 5 hours to get from “Station 5”, where the tour bus drops you off, to “Station 9”. (I assume the stations are numbered in relation to how far you are up the peak, in 10% increments.) By that time, I was winded and sore, and the thin air didnt help much. (I’m an average guy, not an athletic one.) The temp up there was in the upper 40’s.
As I stood there, trying to catch my breath, a small weather front blew in. It came in surprisingly fast, and from seemingly nowhere.
In 5 minutes it went from cool & sunny to sleet with visibility at 50 feet.
Easy. Don’t send out any search parties. Ya does something profoundly stupid like climbing a mountain in winter and ya takes yer chances. It’s much more macho that way, anyway.
I watched the Discovery Channel’s coverage of a trek up Mt. Everest. It’s no fun for these guys unless their chances of dying are like 75%. Only a small percentage of people even attempt it without oxygen, yet there was at least one guy on the show (an asthmatic) who was going to go for it. Altitude sickness, frostbite, guys with titanium legs, bikers with assorted plates and pins in their bodies…all of them going for the thrill rush. I don’t think suicidal or stupid are good descriptors. I think “nuts” probably is.
They are neither suicidal or stupid. They sound reasonably experienced for that type of climb. I would guess that they have done similiar types of climbs. They just got caught by the weather.
Predicting weather is not an exact science. Anything more than a day or two out is an educated guess. I’m sure they wouldn’t have gone up if they knew the weather was going to be like this.
And just because people do dangerous activities does not mean that they are suicidal or stupid. They get a lot of enjoyment out of their activities and are willing to accept the risks. They know there’s a chance they could die, but it doesn’t mean that they want to die.
For a lot of these people, if you told them that they had to choose between climbing mountains and they would die before they were 30, or they could sit in their living room watching TV and live till 80, most of them would still pick climbing. They would prefer to live a thrilling life even if it means they will live a shorter life. Just because you don’t get enjoyment out of thrill-seeking activities doesn’t mean they don’t. And most thrill-seekers live long lives. It’s just that sometimes stuff like this happens.
By that logic we should get rid of lifeguards, not to mention severely curtailing what types of emergencies the police, fire department and paramedics respond to (amongst others).
Taking risks isn’t necessarily suicidal, crazy, or stupid. It can be fun. With most sports/outdoor activities, you could die if something goes wrong. You probably won’t. Mere participation in an outdoor activity does not equal a lack of judgment. Failure to take reasonable safety precautions does.
True, but at some point you cross that fuzzy line between “thrill-seeker” and “possessor of a death wish.” You can get outdoor thrills without putting your life in jeopardy.
I think life is too short and precious. So, to me, anyone who willingly risks their life for the fun of it is crazy. Also, if they have relatives or a spouse or children, I would call death-defying behaviour selfish as well.
just kidding.