To the editor:
So it happens every year, right? People going out of bounds on ski hills.
Perhaps one way to stop this is to cancel their ski pass for the season.
Easier maybe than trying to levy some sort of fine. I know what the consequences can be in some cases, and if they would stop and think, so do they.
I’ve been on searches, air and ground, and I’ve seen successful endings and tragic ones.
I know what it’s like to pull a toboggan out of the woods with a dead body strapped to it.
To have people approach in between flights asking what success we’ve had, and the sadness in saying: “Sorry, nothing yet.”
Whatever it takes, something has to be done.
If a driver commits a driving infraction, they have their license taken away. Why not try this with a ski pass:?
And my heart goes out to the family of the young man who died recently because of a fall. A helmet may have helped, or perhaps not, we’ll never know.
Maybe one thing that could be tried is this—no protective head gear, you can’t get on the ski lift.
Maybe this would work. Is it worth a try, is it worth a life?
Someone has to do something. What will it take? The death of a search and rescue member? I hope not.
KenThompson,
Kelowna
