The Laws of Adventure And Exploration In The 21st Century–An Editorial

By Jason A. Hendricks

On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole.  His original feat would lay the groundwork for 100 years of adventuring and exploration on the Antarctic continent.  The world knew of Amundsen’s feat.  It was celebrated around the world as a feat of impossible measures.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay achieved the same when they decided to take that final step to the top of Mt. Everest in 1953.  They graced the cover of Time magazine and National Geographic.  They became worldwide icons for what seemed to be another impossible feat.

Both of these situations are very similar in the way they came about.  They are also very similar in how they relate to adventure and exploration in the 21st century.  Each event was led by someone who did not believe in the impossible.  The first, whether it was reaching one of the Poles or climbing the highest peak in the world, always brought a sense of awe from the public.  Over time, these early expeditions became the stuff of legends.  A big list of explorers and adventurers would follow in their footsteps, each with their own agenda, each with their own reasonings on making the expedition, and each with with their eyes on the impossible.

Some say that exploration and adventure in the 21st century is dead.  All places have been explored, all major feats have been accomplished, and there is no new ground to cover when it comes to rewriting the history books.  If you can’t be first, then why try?  If you can’t be the best, is it worth the effort?  Nobody remembers the guy that comes in second.

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K2 Tragedy: When Tragedy Strikes, Big Mountain Media Battles It Out With Perfect Timing-An Adventurist Editorial

Anticipation for a successful rescue of 12 trapped climbers on K2 is beginning to wain.  Reports have popped up from all over the world reporting a myriad of facts, suggestions, and even what-if’s in regards to this accident.  Millions of people have now seen the headlines thrown out all over the world:  “11 Climbers Dead” “Tragedy on K2″, etc.

I have tried my best to report what was currently taking place in regards to the tragic accident on K2.  My reports come from a variety of sources including ExplorersWeb, EverestNews, and the expedition dispatch’s themselves.  I have also tracked the media and what it has put out and have been trying to decifer through the mountains of information being released on an hourly basis.

My first inkling that major media had finally caught wind of this tragedy came at 5 am yesterday, when I first began seeing Spanish media reports.  Later in the day, CNN would run a piece that mentioned ExplorersWeb’s K2climb.com site as the source of their information.

ExplorersWeb has recently put up a rebuttal to claims that 11 climbers are dead, suggesting that only one death has been confirmed.  Meanwhile, Everestnews, another major source for big mountain information has put up a list of the dead—a controversial move since no ‘official’ word has been given by expedition companies or climbers in the region.  They report 11 deaths due to the original avalanche, and another two do to recent rescue efforts.  Which is the correct version, and why are these reports so varied?

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Associated Press: Winner of the Middle Finger Salute!

The Associated Press has taken it upon itself to enact a new license to bloggers to allow them to quote between 5 to 25 words from an article for their own use. This could have major repercussions as to how news is represented on blogs around the world. This new license will be offered starting at $12.50.

The Associated Press already controls 80% of the news reporting market. Every newspaper, from The New York Times to the little mom and pop enterprise in small towns across the United States, use their content. Now they are trying to control how much of their content may be used in blogs as a source of relevant information, fair-use content, or even editorials on such an Associated Press article.

Is this Legal?

The United States Copyright office, in regards to “Fair-Use” of published information says the following examples of activities have been regarded as “fair-use”:

quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Copyright protects the particular way an author has expressed himself; it does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in the work.

In this sense, do bloggers have the right to use Associated Press content freely without being subject to lawsuits that have already been battled in the United States court system through other landmark cases? In every sense of the word, yes. Federal Government has allowed us this freedom in an effort to keep the news from being a one-sided, politically driven force in the media, and also giving our people a voice of their own.

China currently controls all of it’s own media. The citizens of China are forced to watch what the government wants it to see, with no voice as to content, political motivation, or to even question this information publicly. If they do so, they are arrested.

The Associated Press is trying to enact this same philosophy on to those of us from the United States. They think that by force-feeding their news and suggestively ‘pimping’ out their services to those that need content, they can profit by mandating mundane license agreements that the Federal Government has not approved of, nor suggested as even being legal.

This is our Press. This is our Constitution. The first lawsuit brought on by the Associated Press will be an event of historic proportions based on burying our voices six-feet under, while allowing them to have full and total control of what we see in our nation’s newspapers. This should be looked upon, not as just an injustice, but as a crime against everything this country stands for. You want a war on terror? Our own Press sparks more terror in the community than what any single event could ever do. They terrorize our minds with politically driven and motivated messages brought about to conjure up those feelings in all of us that something is wrong. How was the economy before the Press spread the word it was failing? How was gas prices before they said it ‘could’ go higher?

Our thoughts and our values continue to be challenged and brought down by those that see a threat by our own political systems and our way of life. These threats come in many forms, but uniformily, they usually attack our Constitution. Some people can not harbor the thoughts of a totally free society. A free society where people have the right to speak out and be heard, where people have the right to quote from a news article to prove a point or question it’s truth–these are threats to their way of existence.

In the last 50 years, perhaps even longer, the Associated Press has been the front-runner in news content distribution. Over the past 10 years, their license to member newspapers has continued to decrease due to the Internet. Much as Newspaper circulation numbers have fallen, so to has the Associated Press’ membership. The AP does not understand why their version of the press is failing in today’s society. They have failed to integrate technological advances that would enhance their market-share abilities, but instead are trying to rely upon their old true-to-form schematics for making this work. This will not happen.

I am currently a blogger with a fairly large audience. Before that, though, I was a Journalist.

The AP is biting the hand that feeds them. Bloggers generate massive amounts of traffic to websites other than their own, through links. If you are reading this, you already know that. Rather than embracing the traffic and embracing the same formula that newspapers have started using (making money through advertising and offering their product for free) they have decided to try to gain funds by licensing out their work…even if it is a 5 word summary of an article. This is quite a ridiculous thought. A thought that will not foster future funds, but will generate anger across the board and force others elsewhere for the same information. This is the age of the Internet. News is a finger-click away, anything the AP can do, we, as bloggers, can do faster, and better, with bigger results. This scares them.

With the news of the AP’s new licensing agreement towards bloggers, I only thought it fitting that I should give them my first Middle Finger Salute. Along the same course, I am now going to license out my own blogging content to anyone who wants to use it. Here are the restrictions:

1. Use anything, including a single word used in this article, (which includes: and, the, is, an, a etc.) and you will be forced to purchase The Adventurist License for Communicative Rights, given that you give myself and The Adventurist credit for full use of the word, including a link back to my site.

2. The Adventurist License for Communicative Rights excludes speaking of said word in public, even to yourself.

3. The Adventurist License for Communicative Rights must be purchased two weeks prior to said word’s publishing.

4. The Adventurist License for Communicative Rights will sale for a one-time $15,000 fee, as well as a $2000 bonus payment enacted upon those who use the word more than once during the lifetime of the word.

Understood?

If they can do it, I can, too.

Associated Press, we salute you in your craftiness to continuously rip people off. I award you the Middle Finger Salute for all those before me, and all those after, that will continue to go by the laws of the United States and not fall to corporate banishment or oppression in the name of corporate bullshit. We salute you.

An Adventurist Editorial: The Stephen Fossett Debates

We should have all seen this one coming from a mile away–

Going into days 5 and 6 for the ongoing search of legendary adventurer Steven Fossett, people are starting to take their focus off of the search and more onto the debates surrounding these types of events when they occur–

First it began with how great of an adventurer Steven Fossett is.  Over the past few days this focus has slowly moved to the motives of a “Risk-Taker” and if Stephen Fossett’s family should be charged for the search currently taking place.

Both of these items are highly debatable and both of them generally always surround a high profile search, especially if the person involved was also a part of anything that has a certain risk-factor to it or has been the focus of media attention in the past.

Personally, I began taking notice of these debates around December of last year when three climbers became lost on Mt. Hood.  The ensuing search, that garnered massive media coverage, soon became a debate for a cause. 

It may be the cause of the general media’s focus to always provide something new to a highly viewed (and rated) story.  Running out of new leads, they hop back on the bus and get everyone involved in raging debates that once again spark interest to previous stories of the same general nature.

Two questions always emerge:  Should the families of the person being searched for have to pay for this service?  And secondly–the risk involved.  How could they do this to their families and loved ones?  What is it about risk that triggers these people to always endanger their lives? Read more

EverestNews Inciting Controversy with Editorial and a Response by The Adventurist

I recently headed over to EverestNews to check out what was going on at their site.  Needless to say, I was quite surprised by a small editorial piece they are currently featuring titled Everest Rumors, Lies, and Ridiculous Stories.

This is based on a few reports that this editorial is claiming as false.  First off, it denies an increase in fees leveled by the Chinese Government this past season on Everest.  It then goes into detail about many sites broadcasting rumors and lies, specifically mentioning the possible closing of the North side of Everest by the Chinese for the forthcoming 2008 Olympics.

EverestNews goes on the record as saying Everest’s North side will be open to climbers in the coming 2008 season and the number of climbing permits given will not be limited in scope due to the 2008 Olympics.  They also go on record as saying that the rumors of China trying to negotiate the closure of Mt. Everest’s South side, via Nepal, is also completely false.

EverestNews Claims the Following Regarding Fees:

Stories that the fees in China were increased several times over were also spread, FALSE again. Why? Guides did raise fees which one would assume resulted in much higher profits… For most independents and operators the Chinese took a minor fee increase.. One must wonder what is the agenda here? To get traffic to web sites? To get published in rags? To help raise profits for some? What???

EverestNews is crediting CTMA and CMA as being two of the reliable sources that this information is coming from:

The CTMA and CMA appear to be getting pissed off by all these rumors, lies and ridiculous stories… Including false stories about climbers, who grow in number year by year… This will probably result in changes from the Chinese many of us might not like….

Last year’s “High-Altitude Free Tibet Protest on Mount Everest!” which was a “set up” where Americans went to China to get arrested and were successful is expected also to cause more tension for the Chinese and climbers which combined with these ridiculous stories will result in tougher standards on entering for 2008….

Now a Few Words From The Adventurist

First off, the CMA respectively refers to the Chinese Mountaineering Association and the CTMA refers to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association.  Now that we know that all of this information is respectively coming from China we may make a few comments.

EverestNews is based out of Granville, Ohio–The United States.  Why would such a site be bowing down to a communist regime in regards to it’s editorials? 

If you go back and read the article as it is printed on the site, you can plainly see that this little bit of marketing by the two forementioned climbing associations in China is nothing more than Chinese Propoganda.  Yes, they might be pissed off at the press, but you do have to remember that China is hosting the upcoming 2008 Olympics and with all of the recent bad publicity regarding China of late, it is no wonder that they would put out a piece questioning the recent rash of bad publicity.

Regarding the climbing fees–on more than one occassion this past year, climbers were told, once they got to China, that their fees would be anywhere from $1000-$3,000 more than what was quoted before they left for the climb.  This information is documented in the climber’s expedition blogs rather substantially.  This did not just happen to US climbers, but even some expeditions from the Philipines and so forth.  This is documented and this information that EverestNews has released bears no weight.  Tell us the sources and give us the figures–until the proof is out there on such matters, it will remain the same.  Too many climbers were claiming the same problem:  A rise in climbing fees after they arrived to get their liscence, which was unmerited beforehand.

As far as the Chinese trying to close the North or the South sides of Mt. Everest for next season.  This news, as I myself have also mentioned, has come not only from the United States press, but also the Press organizations from around the world, including Nepal.  It is known that the Nepali Government was approached with an offer to shut off the South side as well…even though, this offer by the Chinese could have fallen through in the last few days.

Next, we come to a couple of possible threats handed out by the CMA and the CTMA about possible changes taking place over the 2008 Everest season.  These changes are in reference to the “One World-Free Tibet Protest” that took place this year, as well as the Chinese becoming “pissed off” at the stories and rumors coming from Mt. Everest.  They claim this protest was a simple “set-up” to get the organization holding the protest arrested, and in a sense..free publicity.  That may very well be the case, but in another note, the “Free Tibet” campaign has been going on for well over 50 years now.  Each year new protests are enacted to bring the Chinese occupation of Tibet to the limelight.  It just so happens that this years protest took place while China was trying to do their initial Olympic Torch training run to the top of Mt. Everest.

What the CMA and the CTMA are essentially doing is giving themselves an excuse to deny liscences to climbers in the upcoming 2008 season.  They will base this denial on the rumors and lies of the foreign nations trying to take part in next years Everest season, as well as political turmoil of not knowing exactly what people are planning on doing.

While the supposed facts being represented on EverestNews merit no basis, it boggles my mind that an American Company such as EverestNews has seemingly given the Chinese Government an outlet for their remarks–given the Chinese’s past record.

Anyone remember Nangpa La?  Last year the Chinese military opened fire on a group of people trying to cross from Tibet to Nepal–essentially political refugees trying to leave a country they despised–some were shot in the open, in front of 60 or so climbers–including a nun who was mortally shot and killed.  After this incident, the Chinese Military seemingly invaded the ABC camp and essentially looked things over and waited.  They had captured some 30 odd children, women, and men, and taken them into custody as well.

Many people are scared of speaking out against the Chinese.  The guides could very easily lose their bid to attempt Everest and other peaks in the Chinese Himalayas if they don’t keep their mouths shut about such incidents when they do take place.  China has essentially used political power and intimidation factors to keep the “real” stories on Everest and other peaks silent.

Nangpa La was real.  Photos confirm the merciless killings.  Still climbers involved in the incident from around the world are reluctant to speak out against the Chinese.

In 2007 the Chinese Basecamp at Everest featured a security fence and armed guards.  N0 one was allowed around their encampment and secrecy was held as an asset.  At one point a couple of climbers got stranded high on Everest and the Chinese refused to take part in any kind of search and rescue efforts.  This should clue you in a bit on their priorities.  China is about China.  They protect through armed tactics and intimidation. 

So why would EverestNews take a stand and essentially side with them by posting this very Pro-China editorial?  The editorial even fails to mention who the writer was.  I feel the reason may be as simple as the 2008 Olympics.  They are positioning themselves to be “the source” of news and info coming out of China.  On the otherhand, by taking such matters and putting themselves in the public light with such a controversial move, I can not see how this will benefit them at all.  They may get the news coming from China, but at the same time they are alienating the climbers from around the world that understand the tactics China uses in an effort to “control”.

EverestNews makes the following question regarding the rumors, lies, and deceptions and the press that has put them out.

One must wonder what is the agenda here? To get traffic to web sites? To get published in rags? To help raise profits for some? What???

I am only speaking for myself at this time.  I have no advertisers.  I have no site sponsors.  Trying to draw traffic to a site such as this one has no meaning.  It does not benefit me in the slightest.  On the contrary, by putting up an editorial that questions the basis of information regarding Everest and other mountains–by saying they are lies, rumors, and so forth–we do need to question these intentions–EverestNews is essentially questioning the same people that they get all of their information from–The climbing expedition blogs.  They post no news that isn’t spoken first-hand from the Expeditions themselves on their own sites–and they do so 90% of the time word for word.  So who is to blame for the lies, rumors, and so forth?  Rather than calling out people that you yourselves rely on for information–perhaps you should look at yourselves.  This is a weak and futile attempt at bringing in viewers that already question your standards in the field.  China or no China, by printing the threats and “control” tactics, you are becoming nothing more than one of the many puppets you are trying to speak out against.  Just something to think about.

This Week in Adventure Sports Weekly–08/22/07

The new issue of Adventure Sports Weekly has been released.  One thing I truly do like about this new magazine is that it is so varied…there is something there for everyone.

This week, Adventure Sports Weekly takes us to the XTERRA Mountain Championships Off-road Triathalon–one of the biggest events of it’s kind in the world.  There were roughly 600 participants at this years event, which is also a qualifier for the World Championships held in Hawaii–this is a pretty good read and involves a first-person account of the event from one of it’s participants..Jeff Harrison.

Next we get an inside look at the youngest PRO Skater in the world, Nyjah Houston.  At 11 years old, he already is riding on the Pro Circuit and has all the usual sponsors to foot the bill.  Many of you will probably recognize Nyjah from the recent X Games–his waist-length dreads are hard to miss.  Greg Baerg from Lat34 fame is credited with the article–and actually had a chance to speak with the young Nyjah about his future and his present..quite entertaining and I am sure we will be hearing much, much more out of this youngster in the years to come.

Next up comes Adventure Sports Weekly’s Climbing Editor Patrick Welsh.  His weekly column dealing with his personal climbing experience–He is a climbing expert working with Black Diamond, has become an Adventure Sports Weekly staple and highly entertaining at that.

This week’s column, “Hanging by a Thread“, takes a look at the unpredictable nature of climbing…His title says it all.  Scary, but many of us know where he is coming from.

Probably the most entertaining piece in this weeks issue happens to cover a sport that gets little coverage in the press…haha…The Roller Derby!

Some of us who grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s may remember the Roller Derby being on TV weekly.  That was the hayday..but this sport has started a new growth spurt in recent times.

This article comes to us from Jen Phillon, a member of the Death Dealers Roller Derby team and gives an account of a recent night at the Derby and the amazing comeback that ensued.  Great Piece that brought back alot of fun memmories.

Overall, I think this may be the strongest issue I have read to date.  Covers a lot of different things.  As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the process of writing some material myself for Adventure Sports Weekly..so we can all look forward to that in the future…Go check it out and tell me what you think.

The Adventurist: What Exactly Defines ‘Adventure’?

That is one tough question.  We all know the word.  Many of us say life is an adventure–but what does it mean?  Is it the risk involved?  Going someplace few others have gone, or is it in doing something you fear?

I recently had the opportunity to discuss this topic with a fellow reader.  His idea of Adventure was something that usually involved apparent risk and took place out of doors.  I know this is a very basic definition, but we will get back to that in just a few minutes.

Adventure Sports, Adventure Travel, Adventure Books, Adventure of a Lifetime, I think all of these describe a unique opportunity to take a look at what exactly Adventure means.

In the media, Adventure is the thrilling..something exciting that perhaps you just don’t do everyday.  Is it about the risk involved?  Not neccessarily.  My grandmother use to say that Hurricane Andrew was an Adventure.  I am not sure about that, she obviously didn’t plan on being caught in the middle of a hurricane during her Florida vacation–yet, you can’t deny that there isn’t a fear factor there.

As defined, the noun Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature, and the verb: to risk or hazard, to venture.

I would go on to include:  Adventure is something that is an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature that involves apparent risks that may or may not be known at the time of the undertaking.

Quite essentially, in this very broad definition, Adventure can quite easily be anything we take part in.  There is no “Outdoors’ mentioned.  What could be one person’s adventure may very well be someone else’s everyday existence.  Changing a diaper, for me, would be a definate adventure..

Adventure Sports have become a popular term used to describe sports that offer up plenty of risk.   Mountain Climbing, Surfing, Mountain Biking, Sking, Skateboarding, ect.  In essence though, the risk can not be the only factor involved.  Pro Football and Basketball offer up risks as well, yet aren’t listed as an Adventure Sport.  One thing they do have in common though, they are pretty much all solo sports.  One person competing against another rather than a team on team sport.  There is also, if it might be slightly more so, bigger risk for injury.  There is that word “risk” again that ties back into the Adventure definition.

Risk.  Pro Football has risk as well though.  How many times have we seen a talented player carried off the field due to a spinal injury from making direct contact with his head into the gut of another player?  As such though, Pro Football is a team sport.

The Tour de France is considered an Adventure Sports event–yet, there are definately some team dynamics going on even if it is with a bicycle.  The Discovery Channel Team has won 8 of the last 9 tours, respectively.

Now you can begin to see where I am coming from.  I think every individual has an idea of what Adventure is–to them, personally–but I don’t really think it can be defined as a whole.  Everyone’s idea of adventure is different.

I recently drew some criticism for running a piece on BMX racing.  People familiar with this site have grown use to what I am doing.  They expect it—in a sense this site has become something less of an adventure and more of an expectation day to day.  They come because they know what they can expect.  You throw a new curveball in there and suddenly, they don’t know what to do or think, “Where’s the stuff I like?  Where is the climbing?”  It is funny sometimes, how just a small change can get people in an uproar.

“Promoting Education and Exploration Through Adventure”

This thought was developed as a basis in which to keep myself on track with a definate plan.  If you take each item individually, it leaves for a very broad world.  Educate, Explore, Adventure–all three of these items can basically mean anything.

With the BMX story that I mentioned earlier, it was a chance for me to break a cycle of sorts and offer something that I usually don’t offer.  BMX is a risk sport.  BMX is an individual sport.  Those of you that questioned my intentions saying it’s not “Adventure”, and don’t  hold true to my values, think again. 

My overall readers tend to be roughly my age and older.  I am 33.  They have moved on to bigger and better adventures from their childhood.  How many of us got our first beginnings in outdoor “Adventure” sports by riding around our BMX..climbing the trees and the hills around our houses, grabbing that skateboard and trying to bust out our first grind.  Many, many of us came from these simple beginnings–ones that now might not seem like much of an adventure as we grow older, but one that influenced the risks and adventures we take today. 

These events, these sports have been on a continous incline for the past 10-20 years.  This is where our future is and will be the influences for the coming adventures in the days ahead.  Those skateboarding rebels that blow by us on the sidewalks–could very well be that older rebel trying to make his first 8,000 meter peak in the days ahead.

BMX is an adventure.  Perhaps you don’t like it.  Perhaps you don’t like the big press that comes along with the new wave of adventure sports, but my intentions are that perhaps if you don’t know a whole lot about it, perhaps you will at least read it and learn a thing or two.  I am sure many of them don’t know that much about crampons, either.  They will read about your adventures here, and now I am giving you the chance to read about theirs as well.  There is plenty of room and plenty of excitement to go around.  Promoting Education and Exploration through Adventure still holds true.  Now we can all learn something.

The Fall of Bear Grylls

ExplorersWeb is at it, yet again.  When I first started following this story, I questioned ExplorersWeb’s intentions.  Well it looks like they just may have been on to something.  Information is coming out of the woodworks on Bear, not only about his supposed flight over the top of Mt. Everest..but now it seems it may just be about his whole career…

I recieved a tip today about Mr. Grylls, in regards to his previous military service–after stopping by ExplorersWeb, it seems that they have recieved the same tip, as they have included this in their lead story…seems like the viewers are starting to get disgruntled at Mr. Grylls and are passing on the tips to sites like this one, The Adventure Blog and ExplorersWeb.  Here is the lowdown:

Mr. Grylls was indeed in the SAS or the British Special Forces, as he claims.  What he doesn’t mention to the public is that he was in the SAS (21)–an easier and less dangerous branch filled with prospects looking to get into the SAS (22)–the hardcore, real deal.

Bear also mentions on his site that he got out because he was in a “horendous” helicopter accident in Africa that left his back broken in three places…  We are still looking to verify this information as well–

So much has been coming out about Bear making up stories, changing words as he pleases–and in a sense trying to create a persona in the media that is a little far from the truth, that nobody is real sure about what to believe…

Even his shows Man vs. Wild and Born Survivor: Bear Grylls try to create him as this mythic superhuman that can and does get out of any situation–Alive.  Over the past couple of weeks, reports of what is really going on during these “Adventure Excursions” is starting to become more clear–they have been meticulously set-up to trick the viewer that Bear was actually doing everything he says, yet in reality, it was prearranged.

ExplorersWebs intentions, I am sure, was not to discredit Mr. Grylls in the beginning, but as the story has come around full circle now and every detail of Bear’s career is being analyzed, I think it is safe that we can all assume that nothing is as it seems.

For the complete breakdown of the truth vs. lies of Bear Grylls, I request that you head on over to the ExplorersWeb site and check out their lead story…

I guess to me, personally, I am now even questioning whether or not their is a Bear Grylls, or if this is all just a made up media blitz as well.  I guess we will all have to wait and see..

The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

$5000 Charge for Wilderness Rescue Ignites Debate–Again.

A Kansas man has been billed $5000 for a wilderness rescue after he injured his ankle while hiking along a steep hillside.

This debate has been raging for well over a year now–whether or not people in the wilderness, when accidents happen, should be liable to pay for their rescue.

Kansas is only one of a number of states who have been looking in to billing people that have come to need a rescue involving local authorities.  Colorado also has a similar law in place and one is also currently making the rounds in Utah.

The great Blog, Two-Heel Drive ran by Tom Mangan, tipped me off to the forementioned article featured in the June 18th issue of Rocky Mountain News discussing this incident, as well as the debate raging in Kansas.  You may read the whole article HERE.

As far as Colorado is concerned, there has recently been news that another individual will be billed $7500 for his subsequent rescue as well.

This is reigniting a big debate amongst outdoor enthusiasts.  Should they be charged or shouldn’t they?  I have already expressed my own opinion on this matter as it pertains to climbers needing rescued–(please see story posted HERE, for my opinion.)  How much is to much?

Alot of us go out and try to enjoy the peace and solitude of the outdoors for 1) it is great exercise, 2) it gets you away from the hustle and bustle of cities…and PEOPLE, and 3) It is alot cheaper to walk a trail then drive a car.

If all of us ran the risk of having to pay $7500 for rescue after a badly twisted ankle PLUS our own medical bills, would we still be outdoors?

Alot of the previous debate over this issue has occured mainly over climbers getting stranded high on mountains, as in the two incidents that have occured in the past year on Mt. Hood. More and more though, we as individuals are seeing this pop up for some things that seem–dare I say mundane?

I think the political motivation behind this issue has jumped from saving lives to making money, and in a sense, infringing upon our own freedoms to explore nature and the outdoors.

Perhaps a few people have taken advantage of the system.  Perhaps a few have ended up where they never should have been in the first place without the experience or guidance they needed to be there.  Is this a reason to Pigeonhole a whole section of the American population? Instead of going out to “Get Away From It All”, that “All” is slowly trying to step in and even take away the essence of being out there.

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