Another article about the incident with the focus on the Search and Rescue.
Pete McMartin: How much is a saved life worth?
Should Abrahamsen be billed for the cost of her search and rescue?
Sills, for one, thought not — some would argue it was just the cost of doing business in a place like Whistler, he said. The resort generates millions of dollars in revenue for businesses and plenty of tax dollars for the government — he felt charging for search and rescue could make skiers less inclined to come here if they or their families could be on the hook for the cost of a search. Plenty of people ski out of bounds, he said, and in a place like Canada, recreating in the great outdoors always comes with inherent risks.
Sills was also willing to cut Abrahamsen some slack for the fact she wasn’t a resident. Yes, she was an experienced snowboarder and alpine skier, but in Europe, you’re never far from a road or a farmer’s field. It’s harder to get lost there. That may explain why she tried to walk out.
Sills, however, had less sympathy for British Columbians who get lost in his backyard — 80 per cent of whom, he said, are from Metro Vancouver. They should know better.
Pete McMartin: How much is a saved life worth?
Should Abrahamsen be billed for the cost of her search and rescue?
Sills, for one, thought not — some would argue it was just the cost of doing business in a place like Whistler, he said. The resort generates millions of dollars in revenue for businesses and plenty of tax dollars for the government — he felt charging for search and rescue could make skiers less inclined to come here if they or their families could be on the hook for the cost of a search. Plenty of people ski out of bounds, he said, and in a place like Canada, recreating in the great outdoors always comes with inherent risks.
Sills was also willing to cut Abrahamsen some slack for the fact she wasn’t a resident. Yes, she was an experienced snowboarder and alpine skier, but in Europe, you’re never far from a road or a farmer’s field. It’s harder to get lost there. That may explain why she tried to walk out.
Sills, however, had less sympathy for British Columbians who get lost in his backyard — 80 per cent of whom, he said, are from Metro Vancouver. They should know better.