Helicopter evacuation from White Canyon, or: How I got 37 pieces of flair

[TheMountainRabbit]

Curious whether you have the SAR insurance through Garmin? My mom had a stroke while doing trail maintenance, and ended having to pay $30K out of pocket for air transport after insurance. It's why I carry backcounty evac insurance.

My buddy that got airlifted out to the Bridger-Teton in WY this year didn't get billed at all for the ride - but I think he lucked out and got a government helicopter, rather than a private company. (His hospital stay was another story - but that at least was on regular health insurance.)

I carry evacuation insurance as well, since it seems like a crap-shoot and I don't want to risk it.

 

[Gretchen Millward]

Curious whether you have the SAR insurance through Garmin?

I don’t, and I’ve never looked into it. It’s certainly plausible that will be a lesson learned. I will try to remember to do a financial update once things have settled.

 

[regehr]

Super appreciate frank discussion of the $$$ issues here. None of us wants to die out there, but none of us wants our family bankrupted either. It's just mind-boggling, the amount of fake money (and also real money) flying around our insane health care system.

 

[TrailScot]

Yes, I’m still struggling to understand my decision-making process leading to the fall, and until I have some solid insight, I think the account is not yet complete.

I do feel that it was almost 100% my mistake, i.e., the rock did nothing surprising, I just shouldn’t have been there. Apparently I told someone at work a while ago that I try to stay 3 errors away from catastrophe, but I’d forgotten that, and I definitely wasn’t doing it here. That said, I think it was a lapse in judgement, not a lapse in values.

I think the SAR people were all volunteers. I do plan to reach out. I want to somehow acknowledge each individual who helped with the rescue and treatment (there are so many) and I keep procrastinating that spreadsheet....

I don't think you should be too hard on yourself here; I doubt you did anything 'wrong' at all ... you were off-trail, exploring a new route, and having an adventure ... then you had a moment of real bad-luck, when the rock collapsed. I doubt if there is a single person on the forum who has read your story and not thought 'there but for the grace of God, go I'. All of us have had a stumble or a tumble, at some point, and mostly, and very luckily, just dusted ourselves off, and moved on (hoping that no-one saw the fall ). Your account hasn't put me off seeking out remote areas to explore, but it has definitely made me make sure that I am better prepared in future, should an emergency situation arise.

Having recently had a small tumble descending a slippery slope, it does make you realise just how much more vulnerable you are when carrying a full pack. On a day-hike, you have a split second to adjust and recover, but with a heavy pack, the instantaneous shift in momentum makes it very difficult to stop the fall.

Regarding the SAR volunteers, and reaching out ... I wonder if your rescue featured in any local press. Would it be worth contacting the Moab newspapers for example, with your story ? That might give you the chance to mention all the folks who helped you.