What I think of the Mount Hood tragedy
Before I go any further, my sincerest prayers go out to those familes who’ve suffered loss in the wake of this tragedy. There’s no way for anyone to truly understand the grief this sort of circumstance causes for the loved ones of these guys.
That said, I can not view these men as victims of a capricious mother nature. I can’t help but view them as fools who overestimated their abilities by attempting to conquer a very dangerous mountain during a very bad time of year to climb. And now the military and rescuers are risking their own lives to rescue (or recover, as now seems will be the case) these three guys.
I know some who may read this will immediately think I’m a total jerk for saying this, so why risk coming across this way? Because this is about responsibility to others.
Many in this country subscribe to the “whateva, whateva, I do what I want!” mentality, and subsequently do as they please, often without counting the cost involved. The things we say, do, and believe affect those around us. Take this case for example. These men have traveled the world climbing mountains for years. I’m not knocking the hobby, although I wouldn’t be caught dead doing it.
Whoa, talk about poor wording…let me start over.
These guys have families who love and depend on them. Yet they get their kicks traveling across the globe looking for a challenge to meet. While there’s risk in everything (even crossing the street carries some risk to it), I have a feeling that the wives and children of these fellows wish they’d taken to something more tame, like fishing or something. I can hear it now…”they died doing what they loved doing”…yeah, that’s a lot of comfort for children who grow up without their fathers, wives who have to go on with their shattered lives and support their familes, and family members and friends who have to cope with the loss of a son, brother, husband, father, and friend. And why? The only thing I can think of is selfishness. It’s selfish to take such risks when you have so much else that’s far more important to live for.
As I said, it’s a big tragedy. But I’m tired of hearing about it.
I’m behind on your entries here, so excuse the posting flood.
I agree with you here, the whole thing sucks, mostly for the kids. I don’t think these guys should be made out as heroes, though. The facts are that they tried to climb one of the biggest mountains in North America in December. No matter how you paint that, it wasn’t the most brilliant decision in the world.
Here’s the part where I come off sounding harsh. The climbers were all well-to-do individuals like you said, climbing mountains the world over and flying Mount Hood from Texas in their private jets (that’s what I heard, at least). Thus, they had money. So why is it that taxpayer dollars are being spent to find what all experts believe will be corpses? Maybe that’s wrong of me, but it just kind of sounds like one of those things that the government shouldn’t be worrying about on the taxpayer’s dimes.
All that aside, my deepest sympathies and prayers honestly go out to the family.