lost tramper in Paparoas

On this and other similar news items, not having a PLB is listed as a "mistake". Does this mean those of us who don't have PLBs are stupid? I'm feeling more and more pressure to get one...

a PLB is good to have more important is good bushcraft skills and leaving accurate intentions with people you know of what you intend to do and when you intend to be out and when to raise the alarm , that also would have brought about a far faster rescue... plb's arent fullproof making sensible decisions is also important and not acting like a PLB is an automatic get out of jail free card no matter what you do... having appropriate experience for the conditions you are going into, having appropriate knowledge about where you are going and what to expect. theres criticism of avalanche air bags in packs now... some skiers are treating them as get out of jail cards and taking stupid risks in known avalanche prone areas because they believe the air bags will save them in a lot of situations where they wouldnt have been saved without them.

If you tramp with a group then one is all you need (better two). Solo is essential. Stupid is too harsh a word. Not carrying one just means any potential rescue is going to be more difficult.

@Syncop8r: no it depends on what you are doing, and if you leave intentions or no ;) It's just that when you do remote stuff (for me it was cycling in the australian outback and walking there in places where there might be less than 5 people per year coming, and they have snakes, and no water, etc. a different kind of danger), and even a popular walk like this one in a season where people will be rare and there is a chance of snow I wouldn't feel safe going there without one or know that people will be calling the police if I'm going missing more than 24 hrs. But that's a personal call I guess. Plus they are really expensive (at least in Australia there's places where they lend you one for free), so if you don't feel like what you are doing requires a PLB it's up to you. But when you have one, it's best to carry it on all hikes, if you don't take it and you break your leg on an easy walk and have to wait 24 hours for someone to show up you'll hate yourself ;)

I'm talking about public perception. Not long ago they were a luxury, now you're chastised for not having one on a tramp (if you get into trouble). I fully intend to get one when I can afford it.

The price of PLB's are dropping. Plus they can be hired from various places including local tramping clubs at a fraction of the price of a new one. We forked out for one mainly because we have friends who are LandSAR volunteers and they are ultimately the ones who have to risk their own lives (and time away from their families) to rescue those in trouble.

My family and I did the first bit of the Routeburn while that poor Czech woman was in McKenzie Hut - we stayed in the Falls hut on the night of August 5th. We are almost sure that the car that we parked beside in the car park was theirs - it was an estate type car with towels and screens covering the windows, which was why we noticed it, as we thought there might be people asleep in there at first. It was still there when we were leaving the following day in the late afternoon. We thought it was odd that it was still there and we hadn't met the occupants, but then decided that they must be 'real mountaineers' doing the full route, despite the avalanche risk. So I now realise that if we'd alerted the authorities at that stage, her ordeal would have been about three weeks shorter. So I just wanted to ask: if we had contacted the doc office in Queenstown to say that there was a car there for two days, would they have done anything? Would they investigate a car left overnight? I'm feeling terribly guilty at the moment. I know that she survived, but still....

"Does this mean those of us who don't have PLBs are stupid?" I agree with Wayne. The "people without PLBs are stupid" mantra on the media and some public opinion is a consequence of a media strategy in the last few years, largely by the RCCNZ, where complex conversations about the importance of responsibilities, trip planning, appropriate skills, good decisions and taking responsibility are replaced with a simplistic statement that people are smart if they carry a PLB and stupid if they don't. PLBs are awesome tools which can simplify SAR and save some lives where no other measures could and should definitely be seriously considered as a possible component in the above responsibilities, but there are so many other things which I'd personally rate as being a higher priority in most circumstances. (Portable shelter, good planning, leaving detailed plans with a trustworthy person, recognising skills and limitations, making good decisions, identifying and coping with situations before they become serious, and being able to actually recognise an emergency.) PLBs don't prevent problems. All they do is call an ambulance after a problem has occurred. I get a bit bored of seeing people primarily judged on whether they were carrying a PLB when some other very basic measures would have prevented a problem to begin with, or resolved it equally or almost as easily.

@aedin you're not responsible, people who go into the parks are ultimately responsible for themselves to leave good intentions of where they are going and the timeframe, to do the trip they did in mid winter leaving little if any information of their details was ill advised.. hard to know what DOC would have done, they may have checked the hut log books of the accessible huts or possibly the huts, but with no information to go on they may have waited, theres a number of directions they could have gone in, there was no proof they were overdue at that stage. it sounds like the gent had already died by that stage, how were you to know how bad the avalanche risk was in an area you didnt plan to walk yourself? it sounds like anyone with the knowledge to asses the avalanche risk wouldnt have proceeded in those conditions...

there are still scenarios where a PLB may not work. you need other options described to trigger a rescue if things go wrong.. technology is dumbing people down and potentially increasing the risks they face in the outdoors when it doesnt function because they arent using other methods of covering themselves when it doesnt work, GPS's are another issue where this happens, not taking a map and compass or not knowing how to use them properly... GPS fails and then you've lost your ability to navigate effectively if you need to. i wonder if man vs wild would have ever happened without modern technology, no one has ever risked as much as often in front of a camera in the wilderness before the advent of helicopters and rescue beacons to get you out of a bad situation fast if you need to... and no one ever risk so much even with those technologies. when i started tramping there were no beacons, no cell phones, there were mountain radios but i couldnt afford to rent one and didnt know about them anyway. we were careful to try and avoid a situation were we may end up needing rescuing, i needed rescuing once due to a random injury crossing a river.. rescue may have meant a long wait to be found or get out.