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General Climbing Discussion

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Police charge canyoners for taking risks 19-Feb-2010 At 1:44:30 AM Estey

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Back on topic.

In my view the police could be copping some unfair criticism here. Think about what they have to deal with. On a normal weekend in summer there are dozens of groups in different canyons across the mountains. If an unexpectly severe thunderstorm comes through there is probably several groups that are going to be delayed and possibly benighted. The Katomba Police station would start getting dozens of calls from worried family and friends. Assuming these family and friends know exactly what canyon their loved ones are doing and who is with them the cops would have to do a risk assessment based on the relative experience of the parties and the seriousness of the canyon to prioritise limited rescue resources. As the evening progresses these now frantic family and friends are probably going to start lobbing up at the station and start demanding the deployment of choppers etc. I think it would suck being the cop on the desk.

In most cases the parties will make their own way out in due course. A small number might require assistance. Very rarely things might go really pair shaped.

Personally I can understand why the police might get a bit frustrated, particularly when punters are in some cases obviously biting off more than they can chew. The line between responsible adventure and reckless risk taking is always going to be blurred. Maybe the opinions of rescuers should be taken into account when you draw that line for yourself. Obviously lawyers and the media should be ignored at all costs.