Gone Missing

On Saturday my good friend went mountain climbing with another female friend. As they began to reach the summit, the female could not continue any further. My friend told her to rest for a minute and head back toward the car. He planned to summit and either catch her on the way down or meet her at the car. That is the last anyone has seen of her. I know this does not directly involve diving, but I think it reinforces several concepts of safety when diving:

First, she was not an experienced climber. They were doing a difficult route in a very remote area. She was depending on his skills to get her to the top. I feel sometimes divers have the same attitude "I'm not that experienced, but my dive buddy is!"

Second, they should have stopped the climb when one of the buddies was having difficulty. I have been on dives when there are four in the group. If one person goes through air quickly they are told to surface and we continue the dive as a threesome. I have always been uncomfortable with this. Usually the buddy escorts the person back to the boat, but leaves them alone for the safety stop and entry back into the boat. Next time I will follow my gut and not allow something like this to occur. Hopefully we can all learn something from my friends mistake.

If you have a moment could you say a prayer for her safe return. We are all hoping for the best.

Your friend and her family are in my prayers during this difficult time.

Depending on buddies to pull you out in any sport is a recipe for disaster. Divers should be trained to be self reliant not buddy dependant. They should also not dive beyond their capabililities. That being said he should not have left her as she was experiencing some sort of problem. He should have remidied the situation, i.e. pulled her out and climbed another day. I hope they do find her alive and well. I will pray for her. And when she does come out of the bush, I hope she kicks that guy right in the nads.

Jim