Men have always looked at mountain with a mizture of awe, fear, and curiosity. To the earliest cave dweller a mountain range was barrier between him and the rest of the world. He may have thought of it as either an obstacle or a protection. As he fought to survive, he was too busy to do more than wonder about what was on the other side.

As time passed, man became more daring. They may have wanted to widen their limited horizon. Perhaps they were driven by hunger, or weather that had become unbearable. Whatever the reason, they overcame their fear of thunder and lightning and of the unknown terrors that the mountains might hold. They became explorers. Some of them died trying to make their way through rugged passes. Others succeeded and were followed by many more.

Men are still crossing mountain. Some of them are testing their survival skills. Other simply want to enjoy the peace and beauty that can be found four or five thousand feet above the lights of the nearest city.

A few will find that their survival skills don’t measure up to the demands of the wilderness environment. The ones who seek peace and beauty may discover that they have walked into a trap. Many mountain victims suffer and die alone. Hundreds of others would lose their lives every year if it weren’t for the sikll and courage of the members of mountain search and rescue teams.

life is relatively safe: everything and everyone is tied together at all times. as soon as you leave the ground, you never untie from the rope, not for a second. you even sleep in your harness