Our View: Climber not a hero

Frank James eulogized his mountain climber brother Wednesday with these eloquent, fearful words:

“He said when his time came, he wanted to go out on the mountain. He couldn’t have choreographed a more glorious exit for him than to go out on the mountain.”

Families find ways to console themselves at such times as this Dallas funeral service for Mount Hood climber Kelly James. Describing the loved one as dying as he might have wanted gives a sense of peace.

But this image of seeking a romantic end in a frigid snow cave strikes us as a dangerous fantasy. James did not die a hero. He died a tragic, untimely death. His family deserves sympathy. But his decisions should not be held up as a model.

Mountain climbers must share the burden that comes with the dangerous sport they pursue. They should be required to carry mountain locator units – which rent on Mount Hood for $5 a day – to make rescues easier. James did not. And climbers should avoid especially risky ascents in the middle of winter storm season. He didn’t do that, either.

Americans find mountain climbers fascinating characters. How, in a nation with a history like ours, could we do otherwise? We’ve descended from men and women with a glint in their eyes and adventure in their souls.

We won’t stop these rescues. The impulse is part of what makes us human. It’s hard-wired into us to find the lost and bring them home, to return the bodies to those who mourn. We can’t live in a civilized society and do otherwise.

But oh, how we wish James and his climbing companions were alive to be scolded. How dare they scare us so much? How dare they risk the lives of their rescuers? How dare they abandon their loved ones so soon?

Much has been made of the cost of these rescues. Fortunately, because they rely on military planes, which would be flying and training anyway, and largely volunteer rescue teams, the costs amount to less than we might expect.

But none of us wants to send our loved one into such dangerous conditions to perform these rescues if we can avoid it. And none of us wants to pay the price of someone else’s risky decision.

Mountain climbers must be urged to avoid the thinking that paints James’ gruesome end as “a glorious exit.”

It was not.

Instead, they should be encouraged to listen to the quiet voice of caution that lies within. The wisest of them usually do. They turn back when the weather turns too fierce, the path looks too perilous, the whole adventure looms too foolhardy.

That voice should not be drowned out by our culture of denial.

Kelly James’ wife has said her husband proposed to her on Mount Rainier and planned a 50th wedding anniversary there as well. It’s hard to imagine a man with such thoughts truly sought such a disastrous end.

We join her in wishing it might have been otherwise.

And we know the decisions future mountain climbers make can spare not only public fury and expense, but also their families’ deep heartache.