I think 2011 will be remembered, by me anyways, as the Year of Ignoring the obvious. That is, signs telling you "NOT" to do something: Do not Ski out of bounds; Do not climb over the railing. In Yosemite Park, three tourists with a church group climbed over the railing on top of Yosemite falls and slipped to their deaths. Another genius tourist in Niagara falls decided she wanted to "touch the beauty" of a wave, not realizing that there was an actual current underneath the water and that it wasn't a video game; luckily she was rescued. Another tourist in Hawaii fell into a blowhole on a beach and died.  Large, clearly lettered signs warned people not to get too close. Everyone thinks they're immune, that it won't happen to them, or that God will intervene. Or that you'll be rescued by some brave soul like in the movies.

One story I followed for quite some time involved a local man: Lasalle Resident Gilles Blackburn. In February 2009, he and his wife, Marie Josee Fortin, went on a ski trip to Kicking Horse resort in BC where they got lost in the backcountry, for 9 days. Ms Fortin died of hypothermia but Mr Blackburn was found alive.

Mr Blackburn received a great deal of sympathy, until he began hiring lawyers and announced his intention to sue Golden and District Search and Rescue (GADSAR) and the RCMP for failing to find him and his wife for nine days. As details emerged about their disastrous ski trip, it became evident that he and his wife were the architects of their own doom. According to his family, the couple were experienced back country skiers. But when they arrived at Kicking Horse, they skied out of bounds at their own risk, even though there was a sign warning them against doing so. They told no one where they were going and when they'd be back, so no one knew they were missing. They had nothing with them but the clothes on their back; no food, no water, no map, no matches, no GPS system. They didn't know the area. Instead of following their own tracks back up the hill, they walked away and got completely lost- even though the lights from the restaurant were clearly visible at the top of the hill. Once lost, they would stamp out SOS signals in the snow and then move on. 

Many questions remained. Why did they not just walk back up the hill? Why didn't they stay put and wait? If they were so experienced, why didn't they at least have basic supplies with them? I am no backcountry skier but I probably have more survival gear in my purse than they had with them, and even I know that once lost, you stay put. While it was tragic, and the RCMP and SAR may have made mistakes, these people were completely unprepared for their wilderness venture and Mr Blackburn, perhaps motivated by guilt and grief, was blaming volunteer SAR workers for his own mistakes

Apparently there were some big screwups. People skiing or hiking in the area had spotted SOS signals in the snow but nothing came of it. Since they had checked out of their hotel before skiing out of bounds, no one knew the Blackburns were missing.

The case was in mediation for 2 years and was recently resolved. Mr Blackburn settled his suit with Golden SAR but details were not made public. Changes are afoot in search and rescue to make sure efforts are better coordinated in the future. But in a statement, Kicking Horse Resort said: "Kicking Horse Mountain Resort advises that this case presents a cautionary reminder of the importance of responsible backcountry travel. Persons venturing in the backcountry should be properly prepared in terms of training, skills, experience, equipment, knowledge of avalanche and weather conditions, local knowledge of the backcountry terrain and be equipped for self-rescue."

In other words, those signs are not there for decoration. Don't Ski out of Bounds. Don't swim here. Don't go over the railing. It's not a video game or a movie. It's not reality tv.