Another remains recovery at RMNP

And:

“The two visitors [who encountered him at the trailhead] indicated the weather was terrible at the Longs Peak Trailhead and that visibility and weather conditions continued to worsen. Tice was reported to be wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, a black hat, black lightweight gloves, tennis shoes and a light blue backpack. The visitors discouraged Tice from continuing to the summit due to his clothing, footwear and weather conditions. He apparently had not communicated his plans to anyone, the park said.”

That’s just totally unfortunate: and completely beyond responders control.

Certainly given that clothing description under those conditions there may be an underlying context triggering their reaction.

But even so. Unfair.

I followed links to the article about the family’s complaints, and they seem to focus on the idea that if the Park had called in the military there might have been a different outcome. Based on the list of organizations working on the search (including the National Guard), I doubt it. The mother also seems bitter that they searched 28 days for someone else, and only 6 for her son. I get that lashing out, but does she really think he was alive then? With the gear and clothing he had, he probably didn’t survive the first night. Asking searchers to endanger themselves for a body recovery is insane, no matter how much we may feel for the family and their need to know for sure.

As Whistlepunk notes, they were lashing out because of the helplessness and grief. I do wonder about the decisions the young man made that day, He was in the process of being trained to push himself to the limit and beyond. But you can’t compensate for poor gear and bad weather with guts, and the military doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on thinking for yourself and assessing risk.

I wonder if the parents are so critical b/c they feel their own remorse for perhaps (a) pushing their son to make the climb, and/or (b) not preparing him adequately for the challenge, if they had that knowledge.

From another article:
www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2019/06/27/deadly-year-rocky-mountain-national-park-longs-peak-deaths-colorado/1506797001/

Mrs. Tice indicated that she felt more should be done to save people, "especially members of the military." And apparently they're "working" to legislate for allowance of military personnel to lead SAR efforts on US soil if the missing person is in the military.

I wasn't able to find anything indicating they're a military family, which I wonder may be a factor also. They're seem to be very "pro military". Nothig wrong with that, unless they're so intent that they pushed their son into service, and/or pushed him to make the climb for their own reasons, i.e., "to prove himself."  Some military families transfer their commitment to their children, not always anticipating that it could be harmful, especially if they advocate for unrealistic challenges.   I just can't help getting the feeling that's a factor in their outrage.

Rule #1: don't create more victims. It seems the premise of desiring military involvement in this case is an assumption that the military is less likely to abide by Rule #1 or that they actually should if there's a military connection. This creates a slippery slope by effectively declaring that some victims are more worthy of rescue than others.

I looked up the lows for Estes Park. Wherever he was was colder I am guessing.

Day Temp
23 30.7
24 22.5
25 13.8
26 24.4
27 34.7
28 35.0

Dec
1 21.6
2 7.0
3 1.3