[CanisLupusArctos]

As a winter hiker who enjoys hiking the higher summits a lot more in the snow than when the bugs, mud, and tourists are in full-swing, I don't want the government passing 'negligence' judgment on me, should I forget something I'd normally remember... we're all human. Who in the government has ever been perfect enough to make such a call against someone else? No one.

Therefore if they find it hard to fund the cost of rescues in the mountains, they ought to consider billing for mountain rescue the same way as most ambulances bill. Even many municipal ambulance services are billing patients to offset the costs of rescues in town.

In many cities and towns nationwide, municipal rescue services are *free* for taxpayers in that city/town, but non-taxpayers get billed when they use the services.

Perhaps the State of NH should try such a model for mountain rescues. Seems to me it's a much more fair way to fund the service than if the government decided it had the necessary knowledge to determine who's a negligent mountain climber and who's not.

Plus, consider the psychology: When a freedom-minded mountain climber (I know many of them personally) sees a sign that says "We'll bill you if we think you're negligent," his first thought is, "I'll sue to defend myself." However, if the same climber sees a sign that says, "Mountain Rescue now bills for all rescues, just like the ambulance does," his thought is going to be, "I'd better make sure I don't need rescue."

This could serve as a deterrent to some of the would-be idiots who currently think of mountain rescuers as the outdoor equivalent of hotel room service (and I'm not exaggerating here... the stories would make you say, "WHAT?")

So... if the mountain rescuers bill in the same way as the around-town rescuers, what about those who can't pay? Just as it is in the E.R., a rescued person who's poor should be able to fill out an application for free care, except in the case of mountain rescue their application would also include some sort of review to determine if negligence was a factor. If it was.... application for free care is rejected.

As for volunteer rescuers, like volunteers in almost any category, they do what they do because they WANT to. Like any volunteer work, if you suddenly find yourself unhappy doing it, it's probably time to consider whether or not you really want to be there.