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Are European mountain rescue teams funded differently than ones in Colorado or the US in general?

SarahT wrote:Having just finished a week of climbing in the Alps myself the general attitude of climbers regarding self-sufficiency and mountain rescue is fresh in my mind. Its not just the elite that go fast and light and rely on mountain rescue to save their butts when things go slightly wrong. This seems to be the norm and widely accepted. Everyone has tiny packs and you wonder how the heck they fit everything they need in them... then you chat with them and quickly realize they rely very heavily on the amazing mountain rescue infrastructure thats in place. Its a whole different culture. There seems to be little concept of "putting the rescuers at risk"; that's what they're there for. Right or wrong, this diffrence really stood out to me.

Exactly. The days that a heli isn't flying around rescuing someone is the exception, rather than the norm. It's a perfect place for somebody like Killian to do his thing.

The rescue teams are private, capitalistic,money-making enterprises. Seeing helos fly around is common. They'd buzz us and see if we needed help. They go around looking for folks to rescue. Like many things, very different culture than 'Merica.

Sarah T "Having just finished a week of climbing in the Alps myself the general attitude of climbers regarding self-sufficiency and mountain rescue is fresh in my mind. Its not just the elite that go fast and light and rely on mountain rescue to save their butts when things go slightly wrong. This seems to be the norm and widely accepted. Everyone has tiny packs and you wonder how the heck they fit everything they need in them... then you chat with them and quickly realize they rely very heavily on the amazing mountain rescue infrastructure thats in place. Its a whole different culture. There seems to be little concept of "putting the rescuers at risk"; that's what they're there for. Right or wrong, this difference really stood out to me."

Sarah, I have climbed in the Alps for years and regards your statement, what a complete load of crap. Obviously after one whole week you feel you know the area and its users well.
Perhaps the individuals you met portrayed themselves that way, but I would not paste them all with your brush.
Killian attacking the Frendo spur in sneakers is in my mind ridiculous, but hey I'm not a world class athlete. I've done the route and couldn't imagine not having true ice gear.
Sarah, I cannot label your opinion as false as after all its your opinion however I feel you are just plain wrong. Anyone who does a route thinking that I'll just call for a rescue if it goes south will enjoy a very brief climbing career. I hope you had fun whilst you were there. CT.

Cruiser wrote:Gotta love Emelie's blog post about the rescue. Light and fast!

Yes, light and fast... and rescued.

I have never been to the Alps, but it seems to me from afar that the mountains are not as vast and remote as the majority of the mountains we enjoy in the U.S. and Canada. With what seems to be a town or village in every valley, a complex infrastructure of cable cars, lifts, trains, trams, modern huts, hotels on summits, etc... help is more often just a phone call away. I of course feel that appropriate route selection, gear selection and self sufficiency are key to safety, it just seems like that if something goes wrong, getting help (and getting help in a reasonable amount of time) is more likely.

If rescue teams are private, I assume that the rescued is responsible for the expense of the rescue operation? Is pricing competitive, or is it a fixed rate? Just curious.

Dang Campo:

Here is an excellent photo of the route:

http://www.alexandrebuisse.org/images/frendo-topo.jpg

CampoVail, having climbed the route, can you identify (or has it been published?) exactly where they were rescued from?

In the photo in the original link I posted: http://iancorless.org/2013/09/08/kilian ... ont-blanc/ she is in the same spot as the climber in this photo: http://blog.eddiebauer.com/2010/10/22/f ... in-france/

Is this a well known section of the climb, or just a coincidence?

I am not even positive that the photo of Emilie in the article is related to the rescue, but I am just assuming that it is.

Jeff Valliere wrote:I have never been to the Alps, but it seems to me from afar that the mountains are not as vast and remote as the majority of the mountains we enjoy in the U.S. and Canada. With what seems to be a town or village in every valley, a complex infrastructure of cable cars, lifts, trains, trams, modern huts, hotels on summits, etc... help is more often just a phone call away. I of course feel that appropriate route selection, gear selection and self sufficiency are key to safety, it just seems like that if something goes wrong, getting help (and getting help in a reasonable amount of time) is more likely.

The one thing I seemed to notice (a bit tongue in cheek, but not really?) in southern Germany last year was that every time I saw something and thought "that would be cool to climb!" ... I could look around and there was probably a cable car to the top of it. It put me off a bit, to be honest, but I'm accustomed to our somewhat more rugged and wild experience out here in the American west.

If rescue teams are private, I assume that the rescued is responsible for the expense of the rescue operation? Is pricing competitive, or is it a fixed rate? Just curious.

This thought gives me the chills and chuckles at the same time, calling up hybridized images of moving companies... "Two Men and a Litter", "Starving Students SAR", "All My Sons Rescue Services", etc.

I do find it fascinating that in Europe which is largely more socialized and liberalized than the US, rescue is for-profit, versus here in the US where we are (purportedly) more capitalistic the services are largely provided by and with government resources (and I include volunteer mountain rescue services in that, as they usually still operate under the auspices of government agencies for liability reasons.)

Jeff Valliere wrote:If rescue teams are private, I assume that the rescued is responsible for the expense of the rescue operation? Is pricing competitive, or is it a fixed rate? Just curious.

When I lived in Switzerland I bought a insurance through REGA, the main helicopter rescue company there. The company is private, and is funded through membership. Never had to use it, but it provided peace of mind when climbing. They don't operate directly in the Valais, but membership does provide coverage via Air Zermatt and other local providers.

The Swiss Alpine Club has some sort of SAR functionality as well, probably free if you're a member. I remember considering joining just for that.

For better or worse, in many alpine valleys there's always a helo in the air -- resupplying huts & farmers, flying tourists, or assisting in rescues. Lately, the Zermatt area sounds like one big rustic airport. That plus those electric cars always trying to mow you down...

CampoVail wrote:Sarah, I have climbed in the Alps for years and regards your statement, what a complete load of crap. Obviously after one whole week you feel you know the area and its users well.
Perhaps the individuals you met portrayed themselves that way, but I would not paste them all with your brush.
Killian attacking the Frendo spur in sneakers is in my mind ridiculous, but hey I'm not a world class athlete. I've done the route and couldn't imagine not having true ice gear.
Sarah, I cannot label your opinion as false as after all its your opinion however I feel you are just plain wrong. Anyone who does a route thinking that I'll just call for a rescue if it goes south will enjoy a very brief climbing career. I hope you had fun whilst you were there. CT.

I was simply trying to communicate a general impression I got which was rather striking to me and notably different than what I am used to here in Colorado. That's all. Of course I am not trying to apply the statement to every climber in the Alps. For example, several parties that I've talked with during my 3 trips to the Alps to date (all in the vicinity of Zermatt & Bern) have made comments about attempting climbs that they would not attempt if located elsewhere due to the speedy and reliable rescue system in place. Also met a guy who was rescued off the Matterhorn last year who acted like it was just standard procedure. And yeah - I had a kick a$$ time while I was there. Not often that you get to enjoy 6 absolutely bluebird days in a row . Cheers.

Do you see what happens, Larry? Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?