
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993                   TAG: 9403090015
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

RESCUE POLICY

FROM THE GOOD idea department comes notice that the National Park Service wants to end free rides for daredevil hikers.

Search-and-rescue missions to save mountaineers can be very costly, often involving considerable manpower, helicopters and other expensive equipment and methods. Often, those needing rescue are amateur enthusiasts ill-prepared for what they got themselves into, or on top of.

So, why shouldn't hikers who knowingly take on dangerous challenges pay for their rescue if they need it, or take out insurance that would pay?

Surely, no one would argue that risking taxpayers' money adds anything to the thrill of risking one's life.

by CNB