Hiker dies of thirst with water close by.
BOULDER, UTAH (AP) -- By Day 2 in the blazing Utah desert, Dave Buschow was in bad shape.
Pale, wracked by cramps, his speech slurred, the 29-year-old New Jersey man was desperate for water and hallucinating so badly he mistook a tree for a person.
After going roughly 10 hours without a drink in the 100-degree heat, he finally dropped dead of thirst, face down in the dirt, less than 100 yards from the goal: a cave with a pool of water.
But Buschow was no solitary soul, lost and alone in the desert. He and 11 other hikers from various walks of life were being led by expert guides on a wilderness-survival adventure designed to test their physical and mental toughness.
And the guides, it turned out, were carrying emergency water on that torrid summer day.
Buschow wasn't told that, and he wasn't offered any. The guides did not want him to fail the $3,175 course. They wanted him to dig deep, push himself beyond his known limits, and make it to the cave on his own.
Nearly a year later, documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act reveal those and other previously undisclosed details of what turned out to be a death march for Buschow. They also raise questions about the judgments and priorities of the guides at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. What matters more: the customer's welfare or his quest?
"It was so needless. What a shame. It didn't have to happen," said Ray Gardner, the Garfield County sheriff's deputy who hiked six miles to recover Buschow's body. "They had emergency water right there. I would have given him a drink."
Family members are angry.
"Down in those canyons it's like a furnace," said Rob Buschow of Glen Spey, N.Y. "I don't have my brother anymore because no one would give him water."
While regretting the tragedy, the school, known as BOSS, has denied any negligence and instead blamed Buschow, saying the security officer and former Air Force airman did not read course materials, may have withheld health information and may have eaten too heavily before leaving River Vale, N.J., for the grueling course.
Noting Buschow signed liability waivers, the school said: "Mr. Buschow expressly assumed the risk of serious injury or death prior to participating
Pale, wracked by cramps, his speech slurred, the 29-year-old New Jersey man was desperate for water and hallucinating so badly he mistook a tree for a person.
After going roughly 10 hours without a drink in the 100-degree heat, he finally dropped dead of thirst, face down in the dirt, less than 100 yards from the goal: a cave with a pool of water.
But Buschow was no solitary soul, lost and alone in the desert. He and 11 other hikers from various walks of life were being led by expert guides on a wilderness-survival adventure designed to test their physical and mental toughness.
And the guides, it turned out, were carrying emergency water on that torrid summer day.
Buschow wasn't told that, and he wasn't offered any. The guides did not want him to fail the $3,175 course. They wanted him to dig deep, push himself beyond his known limits, and make it to the cave on his own.
Nearly a year later, documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act reveal those and other previously undisclosed details of what turned out to be a death march for Buschow. They also raise questions about the judgments and priorities of the guides at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. What matters more: the customer's welfare or his quest?
"It was so needless. What a shame. It didn't have to happen," said Ray Gardner, the Garfield County sheriff's deputy who hiked six miles to recover Buschow's body. "They had emergency water right there. I would have given him a drink."
Family members are angry.
"Down in those canyons it's like a furnace," said Rob Buschow of Glen Spey, N.Y. "I don't have my brother anymore because no one would give him water."
While regretting the tragedy, the school, known as BOSS, has denied any negligence and instead blamed Buschow, saying the security officer and former Air Force airman did not read course materials, may have withheld health information and may have eaten too heavily before leaving River Vale, N.J., for the grueling course.
Noting Buschow signed liability waivers, the school said: "Mr. Buschow expressly assumed the risk of serious injury or death prior to participating
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play footsie with the devil, he takes both arms every time.
in my generation it was called being macho.
who knows what this next generation calls it,
i call it dead stupid.0 -
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=245227
Blah, blah, blah all over again.[xx(]0 -
quote:Originally posted by p3skyking
Blah, blah, blah all over again.[xx(]
Compassionate in the death of someone, aren't you.[}:)]
You're either slightly cynical and sadistic, or you're becoming an old fart like the rest of us.[:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by dheffley
quote:Originally posted by p3skyking
Blah, blah, blah all over again.[xx(]
Compassionate in the death of someone, aren't you.[}:)]
You're either slightly cynical and sadistic, or you're becoming an old fart like the rest of us.[:D]
Dan,
Probably both. Human nature hasn't changed since we started walking upright and smashing our fellow man's skull. No reason to expect much different.[;)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by p3skyking
Dan,
Probably both. Human nature hasn't changed since we started walking upright and smashing our fellow man's skull. No reason to expect much different.[;)]
Can't argue your point, but occasionally, someone steps up and surprises me.[;)]0 -
Having Completed a few Death Marches myself I know now that it is not about making it, but about everyone making it. I used to think I was the toughest SOB out there for completing marches that Airborne Rangers were falling out of left and right. Looking back I know I really failed because I should have done more to support my fellow marchers. What the point of drawing a finish line if you are the only one there. 0 -
Second place is first loser. 0
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