[at-l] fees

["Christopher Wood" <CHRISW@landmarknet.net>]

Bernhoff Dahl, the pathologist from Winterport, Maine, who was rescued from
Mount Washington in rough weather conditions by volunteer climbers this
fall, learned Thursday he will not be billed for his rescue by N.H. Fish and
Game under its new policy. Dahl, however, did dig into his wallet and donate
$1,000 each to three rescue agencies as a show of gratitude for saving his
life.
Last week, at a press conference at the Scenic Vista in Intervale, N.H. Fish
and Game announced that hikers who recklessly cause themselves to become
lost or injured — resulting in costly and dangerous rescues — may be billed
for those rescue services. Three such rescues over the last six months are
currently under investigation and may lead to eventual billing. Due to
pending litigation Fish and Game declined to comment further.
The new policy is not meant as a money-making initiative for Fish and Game,
but to deter hikers and climbers from taking unnecessary risk and
subsequently forcing rescue personnel to risk their own lives.
"I spoke with (N.H. Fish and Game Colonel) Ron Alie (Thursday) and had a
nice conversation," Dahl said. "He said fish and game would not be
prosecuting me. I thanked him for that, however, I was perfectly willing to
pay. There's been a lot people talking about what I did wrong and I'm being
criticized for my actions, but nothing will take away from how I feel about
the marvelous people who risked their lives for me."
Dahl has donated $1,000 each to Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue,
Mountain Rescue Service and N.H. Outdoor Council. "This is the very least I
can do," he said. "I'm extremely grateful to these people for saving my
life."
Dahl supports the new fish and game policy and thinks it delivers the right
message. "I have no problem with that," he said. "I think it makes some good
sense."
On Oct. 23, Dahl set out for a solo hike up Mount Washington to test the
effects of not "carbo-loading" before and during a strenuous eight to ten
hour hike. During his jaunt, he was caught off guard by a snowstorm which
trapped him and nearly took his life. Dahl, a self-professed experienced
climber, credits a cell phone with saving his life. In fact, recently he was
honored by Unicell, a cell phone company, which is now entering him in a
contest which shows that cell phones do save lives.
Dahl would like to see his run in the media end, but outdoorsman and search
and rescue expert Bill Aughton believes the man from Maine hasn't fully
accepted responsibility for his actions on the mountain. Aughton raised
several questions in Dahl's recount of his adventure in Tuesday's issue of
the SUN.
"He writes 'My clothing and pack were geared for a rainy and windy day, not
for high winds, snow, and sub-freezing temperatures,'" Aughton said. "On
Oct. 23 his clothing should be geared for exactly that. Where did he think
he was going Southern California? ...He goes on to write about a stream so
swollen with water, I don't know where he was, but there isn't a river (on
Tuckerman Ravine Trail)... He goes on to talk about having a lifetime of
experience climbing. The difference is his experience appears to have been
guided... While you can learn a lot from guides it appears he didn't learn
enough."
Aughton criticizes Dahl for not having more respect for the weather above
tree line. "Everywhere above tree line experiences bad weather," he said.
"What makes it bad is the silly things that happen when people go out into
it... If he was indeed strong and healthy as he said he was at 3:30 p.m.,
why didn't he carry on? The problem is he didn't have a compass. If he had
all he had to do was walk due north and he would have found the Auto Road;
it was only 400-500 feet away and he could have walked down it. That to me
is criminal not having a compass. Above tree line the basic tool is a
compass and a map... He mentions bad luck twice in his story, where was the
bad luck? The weather was well known and coming in."
As for the cell phone, Dahl credits it with helping to save his life.
Aughton thinks it nearly took it. "I contest that personally it didn't work
for him and it actually got him into trouble and it put a group of rescuers
at risk and that's unacceptable to me... He wouldn't have gone without the
cell phone. I believe it didn't work."
Aughton has taken some heat recently for being quoted as saying he would
just leave people to die when they call for help on a cell phone.
"I can tell you I was misquoted by The (Boston) Globe," he said. "The quote,
'let them die,' has probably brought more attention to this matter than I
could have hoped for... While I wouldn't wish someone were to die in the
mountains because they expected help to come via a cell phone, I think it
would send a very effective message to mountain users. I think it's much
better than Mr. Dahl's message."
Dahl said he's surprised to read and hear Aughton's critiques of his hike.
"He has his opinion and I have mine," he said by telephone yesterday
afternoon. "Me being a poster boy for cell phones is just plain dumb. I can
be a poster boy for a number of other things but not this. A week or so ago
he described me as stupid and said I should have had a compass. A map and
compass may have gotten me to the toll road, but it was a white-out, how are
you going to read it? I believe in a map and compass, but I also knew the
area, the geography and I'd hiked it twice before... No question I made
mistakes... Sure I probably shouldn't have gone as far or as high as I did
in hindsight. Now I hear two people warned me not to continue on because of
the bad weather. That flat out did not happen. I met someone on Lion's Head,
one person, who said I'm from Florida I'm going to go down."
"Mr. Aughton can say anything he wants but the cell phone didn't get me into
trouble," Dahl continued. "I'd never taken one with me before but for some
reasons, maybe because I had room in my gear, or I think because I was going
alone I did."
Aughton supports N.H. Fish and Game Department's new initiative. "It's
splendid," he said. "It's not going to affect anyone who falls and breaks a
leg or gets lost... The few who are just so blatantly ill prepared are going
to pay. The aim is to spread education not to make money

this is taken out of the local paper here in mt washington valley

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