Image courtesy Aaron Zabriskie

Reality: False…only 5.5% of SAR searches resulted from climbing.”

Some Thursday reading for everyone: the recent issue of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal included a special feature on the stats of climbing and SAR efforts, debunking and explaining common perceptions. The article addresses charging for rescues, how most climbers call for rescue, and the use of signaling devices. It also includes a great table of SAR facts relating to incidents, fatalities and recovery rates. The timing fits well with a recent SummitPost thread providing a graphical interpretation of climbing accident stats published in Accidents in North American Mountaineering, which we posted on the AAC Facebook page last week. Enjoy.