probably an unpopular post

Thursday, Dec 7. 2006  –  Category: Musings

So I’ve got mixed feelings on the whole James Kim thing. Yes, it was heroic and valiant of him to try and save his family. I won’t deny that.

But even the most heroic efforts can be misguided or the result of mistakes.

I feel a lot of the media coverage has portrayed the guy as a hero, saviour, etc… and yes, his death is both sad and tragic - but it could have been easily avoided.

Looking at their journey, the Kim family made mistake after mistake after mistake. I’m not an outdoor survivalist by any means, but the following is what I see that they did wrong:

  • Relying on an Internet map solely (this one doesn’t appear to have been confirmed, but is what the Chronicle stated this morning)
  • Going on a back-country road without checking road conditions
  • Not bringing chains
  • Not bringing extra food/drink/emergency-blanket
  • Wandering off and separating from the group
  • Wandering off without adequate clothing in a blizzard
  • Wandering off without a compass

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not out to bash the guy. His articles were great, I didn’t listen to his podcasts - but I’ve read his stuff from time to time. I don’t doubt that he loved his family and was willing to do anything for them, but we’ve learned time and time again never to separate from a group when lost.

What annoys me is that the media could be using this as a perfect time to address the issue of winter and survival, and how to avoid getting into these situations in the first place; but they’re not.

Yes, he made a heroic effort. But if he’d followed basic sane guidelines to the outdoors, he wouldn’t have had to - he would be alive, and we would all be happier for it.

7 Responses to “probably an unpopular post”

  1. Corinne Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 12:42

    I agree with you, but considering the amount of time he and his family spent outside in the cold… it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that common sense was not at the forefront of his mind when he separated from his family.

  2. Stephen Lau Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 12:45

    It’s doubtful that he had hypothermia before setting out, Kati certainly never mentioned anything like that (at least from the articles I’ve read) - so he “should have” been in a reasonable state of mind.

    I doubt that she would have let him leave if he weren’t.

    It’s possible both of them suffered from hypothermia-induced delusions, or lack of common sense… but again, I don’t think so since they had the heater to keep them warm during the initial days.

    It’s my impression that his decision to leave and separate from the family was a poor decision, but still a decision made in a reasonable-frame-of-mind.

  3. Mr. E Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 14:22

    Indeed this was a sad event, though Darwin would be proud.

  4. Moazam Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 14:37

    Stephen, think about it though. It’s been 6-7 days and your wife and 2 little kids have not yet been rescued. Are you still going to wait after 7 days? It seems logical now, but imagine that it’s the 7th day and you are looking at your wife and 2 little kids without a clue of what to do. You don’t need hypothermia to make possibly bad decisions at that point, it’ll come naturally.

    -M

  5. Stephen Lau Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 14:51

    If you had the proper clothing, training, and equipment - by all means, venture out.

    But he ventured out ill prepared, both materially and in skills - by separating and leaving in search of help with no preparation or equipment beyond a road map, he reduced his chances of survival, and further reduced his family’s chance of survival.

  6. David Van Couvering Says:
    December 7th, 2006 at 15:22

    The story behind most tragic stories like this is the “mistake after mistake after mistake” syndrome.

    What is hard to judge is what actually happened and how those mistakes were made. It sounds like Kim was a smart guy who made some bad choices that I believe anybody could have made. It’s amazing what little it takes before you find yourself staring death in the face.

    I agree that we should use this tragedy as a way to reinforce the standard precautions families should take when driving in the boonies. But let’s let that happen in its due time. Right now there is a wife and child grieving and actually many people feeling the pain of what it must be to lose a loved one like that. The hard lessons to be taken from this can happen later.

  7. James Dickens Says:
    December 9th, 2006 at 13:32

    I agree, he should of prepared better.

    What gets me is that the news reports talk about burning his car tires for heat, and from the pictures I have seen the place is surrounded by trees, I would of ventured out and collected branches and bits of fallen trees and kept a fire buring 24/7 and work on generating lots of smoke when ever a plane or helicopter came by. surely a amateur might not know how to generate smoke but surely after manning the fire for a few days he would learn which leaves give the most smoke off the fire. if he wants more attention build multiple fires in a line surely someone will check them out when they relize that there isn’t a house or cabin any where for miles.

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