Missing Brit hiker

There have been a lot of drownings down here this summer and people going missing up in the mountains too. Luckily the majority were just lost and were found safe and sound and followed the precautions but this poor man sounds like he thought he would just go off on his own and not worry about those left at home should something happen. The Canigou is our local mountain and even those who would undertake the last four hour trek from the parking/drop off point have to follow the rules and be adequately equiped etc.

I’m wondering why someone who lives in France… would call the UK to tell family he’d fallen… yet not call the French emergency services… ???

Not everyone thinks straight in a crisis and we often fall back to the familiar, I guess.

I realise that in France the emergency rescue service isn’t charged to the individual/group being rescued, but I was watching a youtuber last night who was rescued from the wilderness in the US and the rescue cost, to be borne by the individual/group being rescued, was a rather eye watering $60k. A rather expensive outing, but after investigating what insurance they had, they discovered they possessed a policy that covered about $45k of the total liability. Imagine how much is spent each year on search and rescue, very often because folks are ill prepared. I was inquisitive so a quick look on the net and, ignoring all the manpower cost on the ground etc, a helicopter can cost over 80€/min!

I think mountain rescue is charged. When I used to climb in the Alps I always took out rescue insurance as helicopters are expensive. Fortunately never needed it though.

Interesting, as a friend had to be taken off a mountain by helicopter in France some years ago after breaking an ankle and they didn’t face any charge. They were out as part of an association, so maybe the association insurance covered it.

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Quite possibly so… here, we have had the various Emergency numbers drummed into us… and each household was given a sticker with the numbers… to put on the wall near the telephone… and many folk have found it useful over the years.

Now, with modern technology, it might be an idea to have numbers programmed into one’s mobile…

If something dreadful happened to me Stella I’d call my wife and daughter. I know they would sort it out.

Fair enough if that’s your choice…
but if time is of the essence (ie you are injured) calling the Emergency services first, just make the difference between life and death…:wink:

for anyone who regularly does lone-trekking etc… I would hope they have some sort of routine in place… a routine one hopes never to use… but… :crossed_fingers:

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You bet. My wife was stretchered off Alp d’Huez back in the day. The cost was extortionate. So the rescue guys retrospectively gave her ski insurance. Happy days.

That reminds me, as I often state when I see ridged black and white advice here, il y a des façons de faire en France que l’esprit anglo-saxon a du mal à comprendre.

I read a good, credible, article recently arguing that’s because of the difference between common and civil law. it also argued that’s why the UK freaked out while diligently implementing Brussels laws, whereas the more savvy EU members just politely finessed them :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Obviously we have to be meticulous in the accuracy and legality of our advice, but as we all know that’s not always how the system works.

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But Stella, I have my wife and daughter on speed dial. If I’m unwell and distressed I’m not going to have to chat with some dispatcher in French (despite my French being very good). Both of them speak excellent French and will have my location via my phone. Make sense to me :slightly_smiling_face:

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sounds like you’ve got things well organised… :+1:

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I can understand that when in distress, call home can be the best policy🙂

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when I’m in distress… I want to talk with someone I know and care about… someone who cares about me… this, I absolutely understand.

During our time in France, when I’ve needed urgent medical help, I’ve called the pompiers… and their response time has been amazing…
On the very first occasionon, as soon as I hung up on the pompiers I called a friend who dashed over to keep me company… both he and the pompiers arrived at the same time :+1:

I hope the missing man is eventually found… :crossed_fingers:

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You sure John? - what if they’re on voicemail? And the ceiling’s about to fall onto you in the flames…

Can’t find ‘Home call insurance’ - though here’s one for that one call…

edit - apologies, on refection not a good joke. No offence meant. No emoji either.

Probably movement rather than phone, no matter to who, would be the priority :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

My son insists I message him every time I drive the ten mins home from his house at night. It is a winding D road and dangerous in places so can understand his reasoning, I am the same if they go a long distance. Being caring and worrying is nothing to be ashamed of, you never know what might happen.

I have sympathy in this instance but I also wonder at the lack of resilience and independence in today’s world. I know it’s hackneyed to talk about “in my day” but I can’t help feeling that going off somewhere for weeks and the only contact being the occasional postcard was a much healthier world where people (both children and parents) had to be adult and cope.

This brought back memories. In the '70’s and 80’s, I mostly worked on short-term contracts and at the end of a contract I often put my rucksack on my back and headed for Calais with only a rough idea where I was going, with no itinerary or return date in mind, and that rough idea very often changed and evolved along the way.
Once while I was away, a potential client called to my home asking for my whereabouts, to which my father replied “I have no idea”. On returning twice more to find I was still not at home, the guy asked my father if he was not worried at my absence, given that my father still had no idea where I was . To which my father replied, " I would start to get worried if I hadn’t heard from him for more than 3 months. Generally he’ll be somewhere in Europe or North Africa". Happy days . . .

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Character building :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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