The Cost Of Getting Lost

Most people visiting The White Mountains have a wonderful time. But accidents happen.

It could be something simple like a twisted ankle.

It could be far more serious.

Nicholas Howe is the author of “Not Without Peril,” a book about treks in the Presidentials that went really wrong.

“Most of them just misjudge the weather and don’t bring enough clothes. It is so simple it sounds just kind of stupid but that is what it is. The common thread is people keep making the same mistakes.”

World-class climber Rick Wilcox owns International Mountain Equipment in North Conway.

He also heads up the Mountain Rescue Service.

Wilcox says the key to being safe is being flexible if something unexpected happens, like the weather turning bad.

“There’s a high percentage of people that use common sense. They’ll go up and make an appropriate decision, which is ‘Not today. Let’s go down.’ ”

But then there are the others.

“Unfortunately every now and then we get a few that continue on at 3 o’clock with darkness coming at 4 pm, deteriorating weather or bad weather and I don’t understand why they do that except very often it is ‘If we don’t do it today, we’re not going to do it.”

And when people get lost, the Department of Fish and Game has the responsibility to go find them.

They usually get help from local volunteers.

That is what happened last April when Scott Mason’s mother reported him missing.

Teams spread out around Mount Washington, briefly helped by a helicopter.

It wasn’t cold – temperatures were in the 40’s – but conditions were tough and it was easy to get hurt.

Mike Pelchat was leading one of the teams from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue.

“You would go from long patches of water ice and then snow that is still three or four feet deep, you know right up to your waist.”

That meant regularly changing from crampons to snowshoes.

“It was really difficult traveling conditions, very, very slow traveling conditions.”

Then, there were the streams, running hard and wild from the melting snow.

“Little, tiny brooks that you could easily span in one, long stride were now 30 feet wide and probably four feet deep.”

That made them dangerous if not impossible to cross.

On Tuesday morning rescuers spotted Mason on the ridgeline between Mount Clay and Mount Washington.

He knew where he was and was in good condition.

A news release from Fish and Game said the Eagle Scout had built fires at night to keep himself warm and “handled himself appropriately.”

But then Lt. Doug Gralenski, the Fish and Game official who supervised the search, talked to Mason and others. He filed a 10-page report finding Mason made three major mistakes.

First, Mason should not have been hiking alone and after he hurt his ankle early in the trip, he should have turned back.

Second, when he decided he could not complete his trip he ignored advice given before he left and picked a dangerous escape route.

Finally, the report faulted Mason’s parents saying they should have known better than to let him go alone.

Colonel Martin Garabedian, the chief of law enforcement for Fish and Game, agreed Mason was negligent.

He told the family they had to reimburse the state for $25,234 dollars – minus a $500 thank-you donation they had sent earlier.

The Masons are not willing to discuss the rescue.

Neither is their lawyer.

Most of that $25,000 bill is for salaries, overtime and benefits for about 20 Fish and Game employees.

The helicopter cost almost $3,600.

The volunteers – were volunteers.

The Mason’s bill was about nine thousand dollars more than any other for a search and rescue.

And some search and rescue folks have qualms.

Climber and rescuer Rick Wilcox says some people who make really bad decisions should pay for their rescues. But he would have given Mason a break because of his youth.

“If you say he made a lot of bad decisions, I was a 17-year-old once, I ran around The White Mountains and I made a lot of bad decisions. I didn’t get in trouble.”

The Mason case also brings up a general philosophical question about the role of government.

Allan Clark, of Sugar Hill, heads up the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team.

“I think it is a basic function of government to provide safety services and I think search and rescue falls into that category.”

But Clark says, people who are negligent could be fined.

Col. Garabedian says Fish and Game doesn’t have a choice in the Mason case.

The law says Fish and Game “shall seek reimbursement” when negligence is involved.

The law is aimed at people who make reckless decisions, which can not only cost money but put rescuers in danger.

Garabedian says in the last two years there have been about 300 searches.

There have been maybe 16 cases in which people were asked to pay.

The amounts ranged from around $600 to Scott Mason’s $25,000.

“It is not something as conservation officers we look forward to doing. I didn’t take this job to go bill people or seek reimbursement for costs. It is the law.”

Fish and Game also has limited resources for search and rescue, about $185,000 a year.

One possibility for increasing that amount is to tax hikers, although it wouldn’t be easy and it is not likely to thrill tourism officials..

“Money is tight in the state of New Hampshire so I think we’re going to have to be creative in the future to find some funds available to us to help supplement our budget.”

He says state officials are studying some possibilities but he didn’t want to discuss them.

Peter Crane, is a veteran with the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue.

He says everyone should pay their fair share, but people do have accidents.

And even experienced hikers or climbers can make bad decisions.

“I do have a little bit of a regret about the way the state is handling matters now in that we seem to have walked onto a slippery slope.”

He thinks the state would benefit from studying the issue and a more thoughtful, comprehensive approach.

In the meantime the Mason family hopes to work out something the the state. And, the search and rescue people are thinking about the challenges the winter will bring.

For NHPR News, this is Chris Jensen