A fallen hiker in the mountains of Washington found himself in dire straits: badly injured, alone, and approaching hypothermia this past Monday, July 14.

According to a from the U.S. Navy鈥檚 air station on Whidbey Island, the hiker, 31-year-old Ryan Polkinghorn, was climbing the Chickamin Glacier on the northern slopes of 8,440-foot Sinister Peak, a remote, rugged mountain in the North Cascades. That鈥檚 when he lost his footing and tumbled roughly 200 feet down the steep ice field.

Luckily for Polkinghorn, he didn鈥檛 lose consciousness during the fall. And when he came to a stop, Polkinghorn began screaming for help.

The yelling likely saved his life.

Hikers across the canyon heard his cries, and although they could not see or reach Polkinghorn, they sent out a distress call using their Garmin inReach. Emergency responders received this SOS at 1:38 P.M. according to a .

Once they鈥檇 called for help, the other hikers navigated tricky terrain to reach Polkinghorn. 鈥淎fter traversing glacial and rocky terrain鈥� they finally located the fallen climber, and saw that he 鈥渉ad sustained head, neck, and shoulder injuries 鈥� and was showing signs of early-stage hypothermia.鈥�

After reporting this to the sheriff鈥檚 office, Chelan County contacted the Naval Air Station at Whidbey for a hoist-capable helicopter, which airlifted Polkinghorn off the mountain that afternoon. The injured hiker was then taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment.

The rescue highlights the importance of carrying a satellite emergency device or a phone equipped with off-grid SOS functionality when adventuring solo in the backcountry. It’s also proof that, when all else fails, a powerful scream or loud noise can save one’s life in a backcountry emergency.

In its published guide聽,听the Colorado-based Mountain Rescue Aspen advises readers to blow a whistle and yell “HELP,” and not to give up if you do not hear a response. “Rock walls and valleys play strange tricks with echoes and you may lose your potential rescuers by attempting to locate them,” MRA writes.

“No matter how faint his or her yell may be, stay put and keep yelling,” the group adds.

The rescue on Sinister Peak has also ignited the debate about who should foot the bill for search and rescue operations: the victim, local taxpayers, or nonprofit rescue outfits. On the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post that reported the Sinister Peak rescue, one of the top comments was, 鈥淪end him a BILL!鈥�

Earlier this summer, another Washington sheriff鈥檚 office considered an ordinance that would charge hikers fines for rescue, if they鈥檙e found to have behaved recklessly, such as venturing off trail to take a photo on the edge of a slippery gorge. In late June, five separate distress calls on the same trail in a single week prompted the responding rescue organization, a volunteer group, to encourage hikers to use more caution when recreating outside.

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Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper Felix Baumbartner, famous for his 2012 jump from earth’s stratosphere, accident on Thursday, July 17, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. He was 56.

Baumgartner was piloting a paramotor鈥攁n ultralight aircraft that uses a wing-like parachute鈥攚hen he crashed into a hotel pool in the town of Porto Sant’Elpidio, 170 miles northeast of Rome. The impact injured a hotel employee, local reports said.

The town’s mayor announced the accident on social media, and lamented the loss of Baunbartner.

“Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight,” Massimiliano Ciarpella, said in a social media post.

Baumgartner’s longtime sponsor, Red Bull, .

We are shocked and overwhelmed with sadness to hear the devastating news of our longtime friend Felix Baumgartner.

Felix was 鈥渂orn to fly鈥� and was determined to push the limits. He was also smart, professional, thorough and meticulous, never leaving anything to chance. He was generous, giving much of his time to help and inspired so many people.

We remember Felix as a lovely person, devoted to his family and friends, to whom we send our heartfelt sympathy.

A Skydiving Icon Who Pushed the Limits

Baumgartner rose to fame as a skydiver and BASE jumper in the nineties and early aughts by attempting record-breaking jumps from prominent landmarks. In 1999, he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia鈥攁 world record at the time鈥攁nd shortly thereafter BASE jumped from the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He recorded other jumps that garnered attention鈥擝ASE jumping from France’s Millau Viaduct and from the Turning Torso building in Sweden.

“I was always looking for goals that no one had accomplished before, because even if you hurt yourself, you would鈥檝e done something outstanding and unique,” Baumgartner said in a statement published to the Red Bull website. “So sometimes you really have to hurt yourself, you have to go through fire, but at least it should be worth it.”

Baumgartner garnered international fame in 2012 when his world-record jump from the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere was beamed live across the world. The stunt was titled Red Bull Stratos.

In a 2012 story,听国产吃瓜黑料 estimated the cost of the project to be $65 million.

Baumgartner flew to the edge of space in a capsule that was pulled upward by a stratospheric balloon. When the pod reached an elevation of 128,100 feet above the ground, Baumgartner opened the door and stepped onto the ledge, wearing a pressurized safety suit.

He then dropped, falling for 4 minutes and 19 seconds. During his fall he reached a top speed of 834.5 miles-per-hour. His jump set a score of new records: highest manned ballon flight, highest altitude jump, and fastest human flight without engine power.

The livestream of his feat attracted 9.5 million viewers on YouTube.

But the fall was no cake walk鈥攁fter a minute into his flight, Baumgartner began to spin violently. The motion could have caused him to lose consciousness, but Baumgartner managed to stabilize himself.

Eventually, his parachutes deployed, and he floated to safety near Roswell, New Mexico.

After the stunt, Baumgartner 迟辞濒诲听国产吃瓜黑料 that the heightened media attention increased the pressure on him to get every detail right.

鈥淭he development took so much longer because we had to build a flying TV studio for live transmission, and, of course, if there is a camera in my face all the time, it鈥檚 not making my life easier,” he said.

When asked about his next daredevil stunt, Baumgartner told the reporters on the ground that Red Bull Stratos was his last.

鈥淚 am officially retired from the daredevil business,鈥� he said.

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Update, July 16:聽More than a few observant readers pointed out that the dog in the photo looks more like a than a Chihuahua. We reached out to the American Kennel Club, and a representative said that AKC experts believe the dog is a Papillon. “The butterfly ears are a hallmark of the breed.”

There are popular blends of the two breeds鈥攖he Chion or Pap-Chi. Alas, we cannot confirm whether or not the heroic doc in Switzerland is of either mix.

Original Story, July 4: A few years ago, my colleague Adam Roy titled “Why Chihuahuas Are the Best Trail Dogs.” The piece was one-half unintuitive hot take and one-half heartfelt love letter to Hobbes, his nine-year-old pet chihuahua.

Many of us on the 国产吃瓜黑料 staff shared a chuckle at the thought of a toy dog following our coworker along a tree-lined mountain trail. But Adam did make a few compelling arguments.

Chihuahuas are tiny: Hobbes weighs just five pounds, so carrying one on an adventure would be easy.

Attentiveness: Walking alongside a diminutive dog reminds a hiker to be mindful on the trail. One errant step could smash a paw or destroy the flora.

Avoids risks: Adam made one final compelling argument about Hobbes: his timid nature forced Adam to avoid potential pitfalls, like sketchy trails or too-deep streams.

“I鈥檝e got a partner who always keeps an eye on me, who understands, like the best partners do,” Adam wrote. “Sometimes the best things in the woods are the friends you brought with you.”

Turns out, Adam was right. This past week, a search and confirmed the chihuahua’s rightful place atop the ranking of trail dogs by adding another quality to the breed:

尝辞测补濒迟测:听A chihuahua will not abandon you, even if you are hopelessly stuck at the bottom of a crevasse.

Hero Chihuahua Saves Owner Stuck in Crevasse

An unidentified man was hiking the Fee Glacier on Friday, June 11, with his pet chihuahua, when the ice gave way beneath his feet. from the Air Zermatt flight school, which performs search and rescue missions, the man plunged 26 feet down into a crevasse, and was stuck there.

Back on the surface, the man’s long-haired chihuahua stayed on the ice next to the spot where its owner had vanished.

The dog’s loyalty likely saved the man’s life. The man used a walkie-talkie to call for a rescue, but when officials arrived on the scene, they had trouble locating the small entrance to the crevasse. That is until they saw the man’s four-legged friend running around the hole in the ice.

The rescue report reads:

Then a decisive moment: one of the rescue specialists spotted a small movement on a rock: the Chihuahua! Right next to it was the collapse hole through which the man had fallen into the crevasse. Thanks to the dog’s behavior, the crew was able to locate the exact site of the accident. The rescuers abseiled down to the casualty and were able to save him. Patient and dog were flown to hospital in Visp.

The little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue specialists. It is fair to say that his behavior contributed significantly to the successful rescue. The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master’s life in a life-threatening situation.聽

Of the many dogs I have owned, few would show this level of loyalty if placed in the same position鈥攎e, at the bottom of a crevasse, screaming for help. My current pet, a nine-pound Schnauzer/Yorkie mix named Beau, is more likely to chase the rescuers off than lead them to my unfortunate position.

Full disclosure: I’m not sure I’ll be purchasing a backcountry chihuahua anytime soon. But Adam’s compelling take, when combined with this rescue story, and, one important additional characteristic of the breed鈥�teeny tiny poopies鈥攃ould make the chihuahua the trail dog of your dreams.

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I watch Alone differently than others.

My lavish snacks aren鈥檛 unique鈥攅veryone knows nothing builds an appetite like watching other people starve. For most viewers, the hunger is psychological. For me it鈥檚 a visceral memory.

I rarely watched television before being recruited for the show back in 2018, but now I never miss an episode of Alone. Each one brings me right back to the places my own two seasons as a cast member took place, the shores of Great Slave Lake and the rugged coast of Labrador.

My two Alone journeys were vastly different. In Season 6, set at Canada鈥檚 Great Slave Lake, I loved every day so much I was certain I would never tap, but did. On Alone Frozen, held in 2021 in Labrador, I thought about tapping every day, but didn鈥檛. Together, both experiences give me a unique Alone-watching superpower: I can generally spot a tap out before it happens, and often before the participant knows it themselves.

Why? Because, while it is extremely physically challenging, Alone is 90 percent mental.

When the Mind Wants to Quit, the Body Will Follow

I鈥檝e seen the same dynamic play out thus far on Season 12. This season of Alone is taking place in South Africa鈥檚 Great Karoo Desert, as opposed to a cold climate, and the warm and dry conditions bring unique challenges and sets this season apart.

The pattern holds true, however, that most people tap out mentally well before they reach their physical limit. From the point when they quit in their minds, no matter if it takes days or hours, they are just waiting for the justification to act on it. When I watch the show, I read the clues of the participants鈥� mental state in their posture, voice, decision-making, self-talk and more.

Days 1-10 are the first threshold. You鈥檇 think that with everyone full of excitement, energy, and calorie reserves, this period would be the easiest. Not so. Going from socialized, well-fed, and comfortable, to total isolation and little to no food can be brutal, and the transition can blindside people. Just the inevitable shift to ketosis鈥攁 physical state in which your body runs on fat instead of blood sugar鈥攃an cause headaches, fatigue, nausea, digestive issues, and other symptoms that can masquerade as more serious illnesses. Extreme discomfort is inevitable out there. Finding mental comfort within the physical discomfort, while also recognizing and avoiding the real physical dangers, is essential.

People adjust, and life in the wilderness gets a bit easier after a week or so, but in early episodes I can often see the participants鈥� fear that things won鈥檛 improve. It comes across in the slump of their shoulders and the sense of defeat in their voice.

The body and mind are incredibly connected. When the mind dwells on leaving, the body is often happy to deliver an excuse鈥攁n injury from a stumble, an accident with a knife or axe, you name it. The suffering mind can even cause heart palpitations, digestive problems, or other physical issues. Likewise, a strong mind can overcome dire physical circumstances.

If You Want to Stay, Your Body Will Find Ways to Survive

On Season 6, I was slowly starving to death, but I was so in love with the experience and the pristine wilderness of Great Slave Lake, that I felt not only strong, but joyous, even as my body began digesting my own muscles.

In contrast, my first week on Alone Frozen was gruelingly difficult. A storm hit before my permanent shelter was finished, and I spent days drenched and hypothermic. I longed constantly for my cozy fireplace and my sweet partner back home.

I carried on.

Without enough trees to build with, I dug my shelter into the thin soil and hauled rocks and sod for the bulk of my walls. Between that and prying mussels off rocks under the frigid sea water, I developed wrist tendonitis so extreme that I could hardly turn my headlamp on.

I could still haul rocks though.

I carried on.

Days later, I woke up in the night with shooting pain in my toe, dreaming that someone was trying to cut it off. In the morning, I found a huge, green, pus-filled blister on the nail bed. I could barely put weight on it and was almost comically crippled with my hooked hands and heavy limp.

鈥淥kay body,鈥� I said, 鈥淚 see what you鈥檙e doing. You鈥檙e providing excuses to give up and go home. I鈥檓 sorry I gave the impression I wanted that.鈥�

I hobbled on, but promised myself that if I remained this miserable for three more days, I would consider tapping.

In the middle of the following night, I scrambled out of bed to go outside to pee.

I heard the hiss before I sensed the burning. The safety on my pepper spray had been pulled out by wading through spruce thickets and my fumbling had pushed the trigger. I鈥檇 just doused my sleeping bag, my rain jacket, and my fur parka with pepper spray.

But as the pain subsided and my eyes and nose stopped flowing like a faucet, I rocked back on my heels and laughed.

At that moment, I knew I could win Alone Frozen, if I wanted to. The environment was brutally challenging. My body had given me every justification to tap, then pepper spray on top of that, but I didn鈥檛 want to go.

I had won the mental game, and now I just needed to carry on and not screw up until the timeline played out.

Signs That a Participant Is About to Tap Out

Having been to the very brink of the mental tap out then back again, here are some of the things I look for to indicate if participants are still in the game.

How do they handle adversity?

The locations of Alone and the survival circumstances are always incredibly challenging. You must expect little failures, but focus on the positive and celebrate every small victory. 鈥淗ey,鈥� I鈥檇 tell myself each day I went without food during Season 6, 鈥渓ook how much time I鈥檓 saving by not cooking!鈥� Fixating on the hardship instead of the beauty will take you out.

Are they curious about and engaged with the place, or are they looking at their photo and talking about home and family?聽

Staying long-term demands connecting with the environment, learning its patterns, and adapting to them. You must really be there, body, mind, and spirit. Alone producers allow participants to bring one photo with them, and I think this is a booby trap. Dwelling on thoughts of home invites reasons for heading back there.

Are they becoming careless with essential gear?

When your life depends on the ten survival items you bring into the wilderness, you must take extreme care with them. Not doing so can provide a quick and easy excuse to go home.

Are they thinking critically and planning for weeks or months ahead?

Making poor choices like building a shelter inadequate for the harsher weather that is inevitably coming is, consciously or subconsciously, choosing a short-term stay.

Are they bettering their situation every day, or merely enduring their suffering until it overwhelms them?

Hopelessness and helplessness are not long-term strategies on Alone. You must believe it can be better, then make it true.

Ultimately, everyone chooses their own unique Alone journey. I don鈥檛 believe participants must push themselves to the very brink of survival to succeed. Deciding to leave Season 6 before being medically evacuated remains one of the most important and proudest moments of my life.

While billed as a competition, Alone is really a journey of personal discovery鈥攁n initiation of body and soul. It is as humbling or as empowering as we let it be.

Each participant finds what they need to out there, and in their own time. But I always wish a long stay for everyone. There is a huge gift in surrendering to the experience, letting it push us beyond our pre-conceived ideas of self, and finding the strength and resilience on the other side.

was the first woman to win Alone, and between her two seasons, holds the record for the most cumulative days on the show. An author, educator, and speaker, she chronicled her time on Alone Season 6 in her memoir, . She teaches ancestral, wilderness, and survival skills and offers consultation for Alone hopefuls, writers, and filmmakers. Learn more at www.woniyathibeault.com or join her on Patreon for exclusive content and early access to her writing and classes.

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A group of tourists was involved in a dramatic rescue operation in Montana鈥檚 Glacier National Park on Sunday, July 6.

According to a press release from the National Park Service, four visitors from Florida were attempting to take a photo together on a cliff above Avalanche Creek, one of the park鈥檚 most famous natural features.

Avalanche Creek through a narrow, rugged gorge, surrounded by mossy rock walls around 30 feet high.

The release stated that 鈥渙ne individual slipped and fell into the water, a second and third person trying to help also fell in.” One of the fallen tourists was able to grab onto tree branches near the water, but the other two were sucked downstream, through the jagged gorge. By the time these two came out at the far end, they were in cardiac arrest鈥攖hey had technically drowned.

A bystander, Mike Skidmore, who was visiting with his family, told local news station KPAX that he helped rescue the visitors.

鈥淚 saw up above my brother talking to a young gal, and could tell he suddenly had a look of fear or like something needed to happen right away,鈥� Skidmore said. 鈥淗e yelled down and said, 鈥楬ey, there鈥檚 people in the water down there, let鈥檚 go help them.鈥欌��

Skidmore told the outlet that he and two family members jumped into the frigid, chest-high water to try to find the two individuals and pull them out. After a bit of searching, they found both completely submerged beneath the water.

Skidmore, a dentist, and his brother, a doctor, are both certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They were able to pull the bodies鈥攁 husband and wife鈥攖o shore with help from the nephew and other bystanders, and began chest compressions, saving the lives of both victims.

鈥淭he wife responded to CPR probably within the first minute, started coughing and some you know kind of guttural breaths, so she was almost partly revived by the time we got her husband up on the shore,鈥� Skidmore said. 鈥淚t took a few minutes, probably three to five minutes of CPR to get him going.鈥�

By the time first responders arrived, Skidmore and his brother had already succeeded in reviving both individuals, but the third person, who had grabbed onto the tree branches to avoid being sucked downstream, was still trapped in the gorge. A ranger rappelled down the cliff to the individual to secure him, before a 鈥渢echnical rescue team was assembled and retrieved both the individual and the ranger.鈥�

According to NPS, the three patients were then transported to a nearby hospital, by a combination of several local first responder teams: ALERT, Three Rivers Ambulance, and the Whitefish Fire Department. According to the park service, all are in stable condition.

In the release, the park service reminded visitors to 鈥渨atch their surroundings near water. Swift, cold glacial streams and rivers, slick rocks or slippery logs all present dangers. Never walk, play, or climb on slippery rocks and logs, especially around waterfalls. Drowning is the number one cause of death among tourists visiting Glacier National Park. Since the park opened in 1910, at least five people have been killed after falling into the Avalanche Creek gorge.

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crews around the country have had their hands full this summer, and humans aren鈥檛 the only ones requiring aid.

According to , volunteer rescuers across Colorado responded to at least four missions during June to save dogs. The circumstances varied, from hikers bringing their furry friends on multi-day backpacking trips to taking them up 14,000-foot peaks, but in every case, sheer exhaustion was the primary cause.

Search and rescue organizations have varying policies regarding rescuing canines. There are examples of rescuers going above and beyond to save dogs in danger, but other outfits explicitly state that they will not accept rescue calls involving dogs. Some organizations, like (PCSAR), will respond to calls to rescue dogs in the wilderness if their location is known, but will not search for missing animals.

鈥淎s the weather warms up, we鈥檙e seeing more hikers and their four-legged fur children on the trails鈥攁nd we love it! But please remember: Search and Rescue teams are here to help people in emergencies, not to carry out tired, dehydrated, or injured dogs,” PCSAR wrote on its Facebook page. “Especially when these types of pup emergencies can be prevented.”

According to聽The Vail Daily,听SAR teams will not deploy a helicopter for a dog rescue in the backcountry.

The most recent incident occurred on June 24, when a pair of hikers three days into a backpacking trip in the Lost Creek Wilderness called PCSAR to report that their dog was lying down and refusing to hike further. Five rescuers hiked into the wilderness, loaded the dog into a litter, and hauled it out. The mission took ten hours to complete.

Daniel Knudsen, PCSAR鈥檚 field director, told The Vail Daily that every time the rescuers tried to see if the dog could walk on her own, 鈥測ou could immediately see her legs quivering, the muscles exhausted.鈥� He added that the animal鈥檚 鈥減aws were very likely going to blister, and need some time to heal.鈥�

Another dog rescue mission occurred on June 21, after a husband and wife called PCSAR for help with their dog, who had become exhausted during a backpacking trip. The husband attempted to carry the 80-pound dog back to the trailhead. Rescuers needed to help the dog and husband.

On the same day, Lake County Search and Rescue aided a dog descending 14,433-foot Mount Elbert, Colorado鈥檚 highest peak.

Tips to Remember When Hiking With a Dog

The incidents are a sobering reminder to keep your furry friend鈥檚 capabilities in mind before heading out on the trail. Dogs don’t sweat like humans, instead they rely on panting to cool themselves down, which is far less efficient at high altitudes and under a hot sun. Remember the endurance paradox: your dog may be a sprinter at the park, but human beings are built for long-distances. Over a full day of hiking, even a moderately-fit human will out-perform the most athletic dog, which can make it easy to not realize the strain you鈥檙e putting your pet under. Watch for excessive panting, lagging behind, or stumbling.

A dog鈥檚 paws, while tough, aren鈥檛 nearly as burly as your hiking shoes, and they鈥檙e no match for miles of sharp scree or hot granite.

Keeping your dog safe and happy on an outdoor adventure is about more than just bringing extra water and snacks, too. Invest in a doggie first aid kit, dog booties or other paw protection, a collapsible water bowl, and a harness. Even if your dog is capable of walking off-leash around town, in the wilderness it鈥檚 a different story. Keeping them leashed up with a comfortable harness may prevent a sudden chase after wildlife, which could in turn lead to a fall, a frantic search, or a wild animal attack.

That said, even the most prepared adventurers鈥攖wo-legged and four-legged鈥攎ay need a rescue one day, and experts say that once things go south, it鈥檚 best to call emergency services as quickly as possible. In the same piece published by The Vail Daily, Anna DeBattiste of the Colorado Search and Rescue Association indicated that even if you aren鈥檛 sure whether the search and rescue outfit in your area will respond to a canine incident, it鈥檚 always best to call and see.

鈥淚f you cannot get your dog out of the backcountry on your own, call 911 and ask the question,鈥� DeBattiste told The Vail Daily. 鈥淲e love dogs, too, and we know that if we don鈥檛 rescue the dog, we may end up having to rescue the exhausted or injured owner later.鈥�

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A county sheriff in southern Washington is considering fining visitors who require search and rescue鈥攕pecifically if those visitors are unprepared for their backcountry trips.

In a June 5 Facebook post, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office reported that 鈥渄espite continued preparedness messaging and warnings of the dangers鈥� of recreating outside, the county had seen a 400 percent increase in SAR incidents in May 2025 compared to numbers from last year.

Skamania County, which spans roughly 1,600 square miles north of the Columbia River Gorge, is home of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, as well as other popular outdoor destinations in the Cascade Range.

County Sheriff Summer Scheyer said that, in a growing pattern, the vast majority of individuals who require rescue are non-residents and are behaving 鈥渋n a negligent or reckless way.鈥� The press release detailed ten search and rescue incidents from the May. In one, a woman 鈥渞eported leg cramps鈥� while hiking, and was unable to return to the trailhead, which resulted in a four-hour extraction by volunteer rescuers. In another, a man called for aid after his vehicle was stuck in the snow on a Forest Service road, and in another, a woman called for aid after experiencing a 鈥渉igh heart rate while bicycling.鈥�

Other incidents included ankle and knee injuries, and two men on separate occasions who fell down steep slopes near the Wind River. Most of these required multi-hour rescues, some extremely technical in nature. Washington state law requires sheriffs to respond to all search and rescue calls, regardless of severity.

Scheyer said the exponential increase in such incidents, despite 鈥渆xtraordinary efforts鈥� made in the last year to educate hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, has led to a need to 鈥渇ind a creative way鈥� to deter this behavior, while also recouping the costs of these operations, which are levied on county taxpayers despite being primarily perpetrated by tourists.

While some SAR missions are a matter of gathering a few volunteers and hiking a couple of miles down a trail, others, particularly those involving high angles or elevations, aquatic environments, or remote destinations, can be extremely expensive. This is particularly true when aerial reconnaissance or extraction is required. The operating cost of a helicopter, including fuel, maintenance, and crew, ranges from $1,200 to over $3,000 per hour.

In most cases, search and rescue services in the United States are provided free of charge, and federal agencies like the National Park Service and Coast Guard do not charge for SAR operations. But laws vary widely at the state and county level, and Skamania County isn鈥檛 the first to raise the idea of charging outdoor adventurers for their rescue. Several states, including , Idaho, Utah, Maine, and Oregon, have enacted legislation that gives officials the authority to seek reimbursement from rescued individuals, although typically only in cases involving severe negligence or recklessness.

Opinions vary as to whether the most effective method is punitive鈥攁s Skamania County is proposing鈥攐r a voluntary, preventative fee. Utah, for example, sells Search and Rescue Assistance Cards. Available as a one-time purchase, $25 for an individual for one year, these cards eliminate an individual鈥檚 liability to repay associated costs if rescued, although cardholders may still be billed if found to have engaged in 鈥渉ighly unreasonable conduct.鈥� New Hampshire has a similar program, the 鈥淗ike Safe鈥� card, as does Colorado, the CORSAR, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue, card.

Some groups, such as the National Search and Rescue Association (NASAR) and the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA), oppose the idea of charging individuals for a rescue at all, arguing that this can incentivize individuals to delay calling for help, which can in turn increase financial costs and risk, both for the victims and rescuers. In lieu of charging fees, the MRA promotes 鈥渢raining and education鈥� as the solution. 鈥淣o one should ever be made to feel they must delay in notifying the proper authorities of a search or rescue incident out of fear of possible charges,鈥� the group鈥檚 .

Even in states, like Maine, where charging for SAR efforts is allowed by law, some officials are reluctant, saying it could be a deterrent. 鈥淲e want people to call, because the longer they don’t call, especially if they’re lost, the farther, more trouble they could be getting into,鈥� Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service told in 2019. The Colorado Search and Rescue Association , and also maintains that charging for search and rescue services, 鈥渆specially in a punitive context,鈥� could make the outdoors less welcoming, hindering the state鈥檚 significant outdoor tourism industry.

Whether Skamania County will adopt a punitive measure remains to be seen. 鈥淚 need to find a creative way to deter the current behavior we are witnessing, while attempting to recoup the financial burden placed on our county for an unfunded state mandate,鈥� said Sheriff Scheyer. 鈥淭his ordinance is still in the planning phase, but I believe it would be an added deterrent for those who take exceptional risks and expect the services we are required to provide as a result of their own actions.鈥�

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A missing hiker has been found after spending nine days lost in the Himalayan foothills in northern India.

, the hiker, Samuel Vengrinovich, 44, survived the ordeal despite limited access to food and water. He also had a broken arm.

“He ate insects along the way to survive and was following the river to get to Dharamshala village,” Vengrinovich’s sister, Natasha, The Jerusalem Post.聽

The saga began on June 5 when Vengrinovich, an Israeli-American, went disappeared while hiking near the town of Dharamshala.聽The town is the modern-day spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism, and it is the home of the religion鈥檚 leader, the Dalai Lama.

According to multiple reports, Vengrinovich told family members that, after hearing the Dalai Lama speak, he planned to hike a nearby route called the Triund Hill Trek. He had rented a tent and other outdoor gear, and planned on a two-day hike, beginning on June 6.

But when other hikers noticed that he hadn鈥檛 returned to their group campsite by June 9, they contacted his sister, Natasha, who raised the alarm. 鈥淗is tent and a majority of his clothes and his phone are still at the campsite,鈥� Natasha told J. Weekly. 鈥淗e went hiking with a backpack, with, from our understanding, a day of food.鈥�

Natasha told that Sam left his cell phone at the campsite and attempted to ascend to the snow line on a nearby ridge. She said that Sam saw other hikers as he ascended, but he reached higher altitudes by himself.

Vengrinovich, was raised in California, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants, but has been living in Israel for the past 14 years. 鈥淪am wasn鈥檛 just another backpacker. He was on a mission鈥攖o heal,鈥� his friend . Freedman said that Vengrinovich was in India looking for solace due to the recent hostilities in the Middle East.

His disappearance prompted a sizable search and rescue mission.聽Vengrinovich鈥檚 parents, Vlad and Tina, started an online fundraiser with the stated goal of $100,000 to cover the efforts. They told media outlets they were paying 鈥�$6,000 for local search teams, including equipment and management鈥� as well as $40,000 to fly in an Israeli delegation, which consisted of 鈥渁lpinists, flight costs, and equipment鈥� for four days of searching, and an additional $20,000 for helicopter search and rescue.

Vengrinovich was finally found by rescuers on Sunday, June 15, and sent to a hospital in India to recover. In a note on his GoFundMe page, which has raised over $66,000 at the time of publication, Vlad Vengrinovich wrote that Samuel still 鈥渇aces significant medical care and hospitalization for his injuries.鈥�

鈥淲e still need your help!鈥� the note reads. 鈥淲e urgently need help to cover the immediate costs of the rescue operation. The incredible teams who searched for Samuel, day and night, require payment now, regardless of the outcome. In addition, Samuel faces significant medical care and hospitalization for his injuries, along with flights to reunite him with his family. Please continue to donate and share.鈥�

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For decades, Defender has created legendary vehicles to take service workers on missions to help others, and now the Defender Service Awards Presented by Chase recognizes hardworking nonprofits across the United States and Canada. Since 2021, the program has awarded 24 customized Defender SUVs and more than $1 million. In total, 90-plus nonprofits have benefited, enabling them to improve and expand their services.

The entry period for the is now open, so if you work for a deserving nonprofit, know someone who does, or simply want to make sure your favorite charitable organization gets a shot, now is the time to act.

聽embraces the impossible. Each member of the Defender family is purposefully designed, highly desirable and seriously durable. A modern鈥慸ay hero that respects the past but at the same time anticipates the future. Available in 90, 110 and 130 body styles, with up to eight seats, each has a charisma of its own. The tough luxury Defender OCTA is the master of performance 鈥� taking performance and capability to another level on and off鈥憆oad. A beacon of liberty that can trace its heritage back to the first Land Rover in 1948, Defender is a brand that supports humanitarian and conservation work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Tusk Trust. The Defender brand is underpinned by Land Rover 鈥� a mark of trust built on more than 75 years of expertise in technology and world鈥憀eading off鈥憆oad capability. Defender vehicles are designed and engineered in the UK and sold in 121 countries. It belongs to the JLR house of brands alongside Range Rover, Discovery and Jaguar.

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My phone buzzes with an incoming call, the world “HOME” flashes on the screen.

In the nanosecond before I answer, the half-dozen worries that come from having elderly parents flash through my mind. Did somebody fall over? Was there a concerning doctor visit? Is everyone OK?聽

My 83-year-old father’s voice crackles on the other line.

“Fred, I just talked to Steve,” he says. “You really need to write an article about him for your magazine.”

I’m silent. My mind races again, this time bouncing off disparate emotions. Relief. Confusion. Annoyance.

For the past six months, my father has relentlessly asked鈥攏o, commanded鈥攎e to write about a buddy of his named Steve. From what I’ve deduced from my dad’s enthusiastic pitching, Steve loves to explore subterranean caves. In Mexico. Yep, Steve goes caving. This, in my father’s opinion, makes Steve a fabulous person to profile in the pages of 翱耻迟蝉颈诲别.听“Steve is a really great guy,” my dad always adds.

This, of course, is not the first time my father has prodded me to write about something. Each one has evoked complex feelings that can only come from a parent-child relationship. Intellectually, I know that my dad is just striving for connection, some way to relate to the adult son he once took fishing and tossed a baseball with in the backyard.

Alas, his determination聽(you NEED to write about Steve) unearths thousands of memories of past parental commands: tie your shoes, no elbows on the dinner table, don’t forget your homework.聽All of a sudden, I’m 13 years old again, pushing back against my dad’s authority, striving for my own independence.

I sigh as I respond into the phone: “Dad, I’m really busy right now.”

The Complexities of a Parent Pitch

Working in journalism means constantly fielding story pitches, and as my 22-year career in media has progressed, this has only grown in number and intensity. At 国产吃瓜黑料,听my email inbox overflows each day with more than a dozen story ideas from freelance writers, PR agencies, non-profit watchdog groups, and even politicians.

Most are narratives about a personal adventure into the backcountry, or a request to write about a product or idea. Very few of them, however, check all of the boxes that we editors consider when assigning an actual story. Is it timely or newsworthy? Is there a person at the heart of it who has a compelling arc? Does the story say something about a wider dynamic in outdoor culture that a general audience would find compelling? Is the subject matter actually of interest to 国产吃瓜黑料 readers?

Very few pitches meet the standards above, and even if one does, we must make a final assessment.聽Does the writer have the reporting experience, access, and writing skills to tell this story?

My father’s pitches rarely meet the bar for pursuing a story. Most involve some element of geology or geologic exploration鈥攖he field he’s worked in for the last 60 years.

Assessing a story is a complicated vetting process, and one that is nearly impossible to explain to a parent or family member without that person’s eyes glazing over with boredom. This is why nearly every journalist I know can share stories of fielding bad story pitches from their loved ones.

“My dad also started ski touring last winter and got his avalanche training, so every time he reads about an accident in the news, he聽shares it with me, I think in an effort to remind me that avalanches exist,” says Anthony Walsh, one of the Climbing editors.

“When my dad does try to pitch me stories on climbing, it’s like guided mountaineering clients or news we already covered a week earlier,” writes Maya Silver, 颁濒颈尘产颈苍驳’蝉听editor-in-chief.

“My dad is an avid cyclist and doesn’t really follow running, so he sends me all the Velo聽articles he loves and then sends me stories about running from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that we covered like two years previously,” Abby Levene of 国产吃瓜黑料 Run ays.

These are all relatable anecdotes. Many of my father’s pitches are stories he reads in the Wall Street Journal. When I’d tell him that coverage in a major newspaper usually means that a similar story in 国产吃瓜黑料 will generate less of an audience, he shrugs.

“But it’s still an interesting story,” my dad always says in a last-ditch attempt.

But Sometimes Parent Stories Work

These anecdotes are reminiscent of my favorite episode of , the celebrated podcast and public radio show. Back in 2010, the show’s reporters . The logline to the episode reads: We try something harder than anything we’ve ever tried before, by taking the random ideas that members of our own families have told us would be “perfect for the show” and turning them into actual stories.聽

Lisa Pollack’s mom wanted a story about funny funerals. Nancy Updike’s dad had a great idea for a radio episode about the building of the Erie Canal. Alex Blumberg admitted that his father’s pitches are “generally big and abstract,” like the one he pursued: corporate personhood. Another reporter told the story of how her father, back in the fifties, tinkered with his Oldsmobile in a way that it could be turned on by dialing a rotary telephone.

The most relatable anecdote was from reporter Jane Feltes, whose dad pitched a profile about the local Methodist pastor, a guy named Harry Brakeman. At first, Feltes was skeptical of her dad’s assertion that Brakeman had founded a university in Haiti. But Feltes called up Brakeman, investigated his work, and stumbled upon a wonderful story about a dynamic person doing amazing work.

I recently re-listened to the episode and analyzed each parental pitch. No, none of these story ideas had much mainstream appeal, newsiness, or timeliness. But each of the tales were, in their own way, compelling. The Harry Brakeman segment, specifically, drove home the point鈥攎aybe some parent pitches do work. While listening, my mind wandered to my dad, and to his friend named Steve. No, Steve’s story has very little potential to harness a major audience, or to break news. But what if Steve’s story was just as dynamic as that of Harry Brakeman? What if my teenage tendencies to ignore my father were blocking my own sense of curiosity?

I decided to call up Steve.

A Story About Caves

A man answers on the other end of my phone and identifies himself as Steve Maynard. Within a few minutes, I am laughing. My father is right: Steve, who is 70, is an extremely great guy. And boy does he love caving. Over the course of a half-hour call, Steve recounts the many multi-day expeditions he’s taken deep into the Earth’s crust to explore tunnels and chambers in the pitch black depths of caves.

“I鈥檝e crawled through places that were pretty tight, and I’ve been in tunnels where I had to exhale just to get through,” he tells me. “For whatever reason, it doesn’t bother me.”

In the nineties, Steve completed several dozen expeditions into the Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where he helped map some of the 150 miles of passageways. More recently, Steve has embarked on trips to a recently discovered cave in Oaxaca, Mexico, called Xine Xao.

“The passages are as big as subway tunnels,” he tells me. “It’s mostly an easy walk鈥攁t least as far as caves go. You’re scrambling, but you’re not crawling on your hands and knees.”

Steve and other cavers wonder if the Xine Xao tunnels link up with the nearby , which stretches 5,118 feet into the ground, making it the deepest cave in North America. Linking together two massive cave systems would represent a massive breakthrough鈥攁t least within the tight-knit world of cavers.

“You’re talking about a few thousand people worldwide who really care about this stuff,” he says.

As Steve shares stories of his expeditions and discoveries, one major question pops in my head: Why? It’s easy to understand why mountaineers scale high peaks鈥攇lory, fame, personal accomplishment, and, well, because society rewards such feats with attention. But why explore the depths of the Earth’s crust? The only mainstream attention caving receives is during or after a or disaster.

Steve is silent for a few moments after I present my question.

“It’s an adventure,” he says. “I’ve had the good fortune of being the first human being to ever step into some chambers on a few occasions. That’s a feeling that’s really hard to describe.”

There’s also a social pull to it. Since he began caving in the early nineties, Steve has made friends within the international caving community. When he goes on one of these eight-day expeditions, he gets to catch up with other friends who share his passion.

And finally, there’s the attraction of science and discovery. Steve has a background in geology鈥攖he same as my father. When Steve explores a cave, he can visualize the mountains, mineral deposits, and other features of the Earth’s crust that surround him. It’s a relatable perspective that reminds me of dozens of road trips I took with my dad, during which he spent hours explaining the geologic forces that created mountains, gullies, and canyons.

Steve tells me that it may take decades to fully explore the Xine Xao system and to find the chambers and tunnels that lead to the surface.

“Part of my motivation for being interested in it has been to help people learn about caves and map them out,” he says. “Maybe someday, when I’m in a wheelchair in the old folks home, someone will make a connection at Xine Xao聽to the surface. I will raise my cup of prune juice to them.”

I mentally raise my own cup of prune juice to Steve, and to my father. His relentless pitching has led me here, to Steve, and I am absolutely compelled by Steve’s perspective on caving. Will his story produce the next great piece of American journalism? Probably not. But it has kept me enthralled and interested鈥攖he bar that all stories must cross.

Before we end our call, I do my final bit of diligence. I ask Steve if these multi-day caving expeditions into dark and deserted corridors deep underground will ever become a recreational activity for the masses, like mountain climbing or whitewater rafting. Steve laughs. He is doubtful.

“It’s dark, you get dirty, and personal hygiene is an issue,” he says. “You don’t realize how bad you stink until you get out of a cave.”

Fair enough, Steve.

Articles editor聽Frederick Dreier grew up in Golden, Colorado, and everything he knows about the outdoors he learned from his father, John Dreier.聽

The post For Father鈥檚 Day, I Wrote the Story My Dad Pitched Me. It鈥檚 About Caves. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.