I think “these people” should not go to the mountains without permits and alone in the first place. Or if they go this way they should not expect to be rescued. A bit like surfers going out during a typhoon. Impossible to care for people who willfully risk their lives.
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Don’t moralise rescues. Rescue tech would help everybody in trouble.
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Sure, I guess, those are two different issues, upgrading rescue equipment sure, but if you want to rescue people who don’t feel like playing by the rules, hit them with really hefty fines, at least.
Contrary to previous “accidents” where the rescuers were left in the dark about the actual location of those to be rescued, this hiker was well prepared. She posted detailed hiking plans, and had accurate GPS on her and was able to sent out a rescue request at the first moment of her accident. The rescuers didn’t need to blanket search the whole mountain.
In previous “accidents” where rescuers were outraged, most of the hikers went during typhoons, or was still capable of walking around, and didn’t even bother to stay in one place to wait for the rescuers, all adding to the time and resources wasted to “save” them.
This is not one of those cases. This was a very experience hiker who happened to have an accident.
The only “mistake” is that she went alone, which I guess is something she preferred to do, however, in her case having someone else there wouldn’t have gotten rescuers to her any sooner. She was able to let rescuers know exactly where to find her.
As for her not applying for a permit, most advanced hikers don’t apply for a permit when they attempt less mainstream trails because the government wouldn’t approve it, and frankly there’s no real reason confining everyone of every skill level to doing tourist friendly trails.
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25 days hiking? why not just get a house in the mountains at that point.
You may be missing the point of nomadic lifestyles. The idea is to keep moving, not remain rooted to the same spot.
i guess. seems more of a nomadic hobby though.
All good points.
Bottom line. She decided to do it and had to face the consequences. No one else to blame.
Getting a permit is probably impossible if you want to go alone for that exact reason. What if something goes wrong and you need immediate help? If you get a permit, the rescue teams at least know who is where and they can be prepare better. Might be an idea to have hikers or leaders of hiking groups in remote areas being required to carry tracking devices so that the rescue centers know where everyone is at anytime?
As to upgrading rescue equipment. Need to evaluate that and see if allocating money to that is more important than allocating it elsewhere. A drone would most likely not have made any difference in this case, cause if the helis don’t fly, a drone is probably not going to fly either. Because of the limited range of a drone, you need to bring it close to the site of the accident, right? How to, if not by helicopter? Also drones who can carry stuff are expensive and need people to fly them. If they could be used for other important tasks like monitoring area etc. that might make sense.
About the bikini:
In an interview, she stated it all started when she lost a bet, so she had to climb in a bikini. Later on, as she saw it attracted people´s attention, she used it as a gimmick to promote hiking.
Well, now she is beyond the mountains, hiking through clouds.
And it’s a big one. There are very tricky trails even without going very far from the city.
What? Her last wish was to be catapulted???
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In spirit, dear, in spirit.
Seems to be a trend over the years. I remember there was a story where the government failed to find the hiker and the family had to call in a expert private hiker who found the victim dead after 20 days or so if I remember.
That was the catalyst for them tightening up all the hiking rules and requiring permits and closing some trails due to being sued.
Taipei day hikers will be familiar with the various vertical roped sections on the Four beasts mountains (95 peak etc.). Saw a sign up there saying all the ropes are being removed. My guess is they got fed up with too many idiots falling off the ropes.
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Did that once.
As always, you can’t make it right for everyone.
I’ve never hiked that one but maybe you can tell me… is this a situation where people will keep climbing it, just without the ropes.
Or removing the ropes makes it impossible.
This story?
https://www.thewildeast.net/2011/05/tough-questions-raised-about-hiker’s-unnecessary-death/
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That’s the one