By Raymond S. Munn
posted
Jan 10, 2013
Dear Editor,
After reading your recent article of skiers needing to be
rescued from off-trail areas (The Mountain Times, 2 January 2013),
I must comment on the atrocity and risk that Messrs, Barbarossa,
Dipietro, Castro, Consoni, Massard, Peters, Lebaugh, the
Markowitz's, and the Shaftany's brought upon themselves and their
rescuers (VT State Police SAR Team, Killington Ski Patrol,
Killington Fire Department and SAR Team) in their ski escapades
over the past weekend.
By way of background, I have spent a lot of my life in
wilderness areas "off trail" and "out of bounds," in activities
with Boy Scouts, Outward Bound, the Army, at sea, and a large part
of my leisure and retirement activities, including a current effort
to summit all 48 four-thousand-footers of the White Mountains. I
know the desire to go "out of bounds," and I know its concomitant
responsibility; I have on each such trip been prepared to meet that
responsibility. The men cited in the article admittedly breached
their responsibility - they violated the rules of the ski areas
prescribed on their lift tickets ("skied into the woods off the …
ski trail," "leaving the ski trail," "skiing out of bounds,") they
probably trespassed onto private property, they put themselves and
minors at risk, and they subjected rescue personnel to risk and
expense.
In my view, those adult men should be cited, charged with the
expenses incurred by the rescuing parties, and fined for the
breaches of the ski area policy. Otherwise, future re creationists
equally lacking in good judgment will continue with similar and
increasingly emboldened dangerous transgressions because they
believe they will be rescued with no penalty.
Raymond S. Munn, Wilmington, Vt.
