Incident for analysis

[cbskies]

I feel like it would be remiss if this forum never gets the opportunity to discuss this particular back country rescue incident, either for full analysis so we can learn, or just for general forum fodder.

I partially feel bad for posting this, but I'm sure there are many here who might find this incident of interest, for whatever reason.

[cottonmountaineering]

guy was too lazy to walk back? i skimmed through the video

[Istoodupthere]

I watched most of it and had to stop because it was kind of embarrassing. The guy wasn’t hurt, wasn’t sick, didn’t appear to be lost (though he sent a text saying he was), he had food, he had water. He just didn’t want to walk back on his own because it was hard. At least try to walk back before pressing SOS button.

[HikerGuy]

I am SO thankful that we have professional SAR organizations in Colorado. We are truly fortunate in that regard. I have my opinion/suspicions/etc about this incident, but I will not share them in a public forum. However, the Idaho County Sheriff ridiculed the dude on Facebook. Alpine Rescue Team/CSAR shared a good article on this subject on their Facebook page, https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/01/1 ... volunteer/. If you don't feel like reading it, the takeaway is this: social media comments criticizing people who need to be rescued create reluctance to call for help; and dehydration, fear, hunger can all impact people's decision-making and empathy is more appropriate than scorn.

[cbskies]

I am SO thankful that we have professional SAR organizations in Colorado. We are truly fortunate in that regard. I have my opinion/suspicions/etc about this incident, but I will not share them in a public forum. However, the Idaho County Sheriff ridiculed the dude on Facebook. Alpine Rescue Team/CSAR shared a good article on this subject on their Facebook page, https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/01/1 ... volunteer/. If you don't feel like reading it, the takeaway is this: social media comments criticizing people who need to be rescued create reluctance to call for help; and dehydration, fear, hunger can all impact people's decision-making and empathy is more appropriate than scorn.

I agree with your assessment, which is why I hesitated to post this. However my honest opinion is that this was a poorly planned stunt designed to generate clicks, which I am giving him, so I don't feel bad. When you take a look at the whole incident, his location and the response etc. it's actually quite funny, I think. Looking at the location on Google, the Sheriff Office was correct he was literally not much more than a half mile from a road up a small hill. It's obvious he was hoping for a helicopter to land on the lake, great story and footage for the channel you know. My guess is he didn't account for the road that was a half mile away. It honestly makes me laugh, I might be a jerk for doing so but whatever.

This is a lot like the guy who jumped out of a plane pretending he was in an emergency when it was just a stunt for social media.

[markf]

post deleted by author

[cbskies]

The most obvious hint this might be a stunt is the very well framed and staged picture he took of himself on the lake pushing the SOS button, for the thumbnail, lol. In his story he says he pushed it while scared in his tent. Common, I can't be the only one who sees the humor, im not ridiculing or scorning, just laughing.

[Will_E]

7 miles each way? And planning 4-7 days? I’m pretty sure my little sister could do that in a day, and she lives at sea level.

And yeah, total clickbait.

[Dave B]

So much quality content on Youtube, a literal treasure trove of useful and relevant information.

[Been_Jammin]

I feel bad for the dude. His side of the story makes the rescue team look like jerks.

[TomPierce]

IMO this was probably a staged event. If you go on his youtube web channel (lots of posted videos), he'd done a rehearsal for this and posted about it 8 months prior to the current video. By "rehearsal" I mean he went out for another winter overnighter, snowshoes & pack, etc. Covered in an overnighter what he said he needed 3 days to do solo (7 miles...in 3 days??), with the exact same goal, a relatively low altitude lake. And the bit about not having water to drink and for meals? On his prior trip they'd easily lit a fire and enjoyed it for what seemed most of the night. Plenty of wood around.

If you look at the two videos something sure doesn't add up. As someone else mentioned, filming yourself pressing the SOS button sure looks contrived, and the film suggests he was healthy enough on a bluebird day, a half mile from a road. When I heard that SAR wanted him to walk out it made sense once I did some poking into it. People generally respond to crises/accidents with curiosity, youtube is no exception. While I am very sympathetic to those who call for rescue, there's too much here that doesn't add up. My hunch is this was an attempt to generate eyeball traffic for his youtube channel.

Just my opinion.

-Tom

[two lunches]

the first video on his youtube page is about Everest basecamp and he's complaining about the logistical "impossibility" of ascending a few hundred feet of vert in unconsolidated snow? which REQUIRED a "rescue" in spite of the fact that he had sufficient gear/supplies to hike out? after listening to this entire video, my conclusions are twofold-
a. Jon wanted a helicopter ride for his channel to demonstrate the "dangers"/extreme effort of exploring the backcountry solo in winter and
b. the function of this video was to complain about SAR/the sheriff's department not treating him like he was on the verge of death. (because he wasn't)

maybe he didn't deserve to get publicly dragged by the police officers immediately following the "rescue," but he shouldn't have attempted to blast them in return.

some of my favorites--
"800-1000' up switchbacks... and when it snows, that trail DISAPPEARS... i don't see a way up!"
"i pay $50/month for this service"
"i have life flight insurance"
"i know i'm going into dangerous situations"
"i shouldn't be criticized for asking for help"
"i asked the police officers if they had any SAR training and they said they didn't- it was obvious"

not a good look, jon. not at all.