Rick Curtis' Blog - All Comments

re: Unnecessary Death in the Desert

pvanhorn — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:35:32 GMT

I worked at BOSS for 15 consecutive summers. During that time I worked on quite a few 28-day courses, and many more 7 and 14-day courses. Keep in mind that during this period hundreds of students successfully completed these courses. I certainly cannot speak directly to the tragedy being discussed here since I was not in the field at that time, but I can speak about the general program and experience. I have seen many students in varying states of hunger, mild dehydration, and mental collapse. Students occassionally did throw up (likely to electrolyte imbalances, as this behavior always stopped immediately upon receiving food). Headaches, fatigue and other symptoms were common. A student once asked me, in the middle of a long, hot, dry stretch: "what would you say if I told you I thought I was going to die?". My response? "if you truly meant that Rich, I'd be concerned. But if you meant that you were were hotter, thirstier, and more tired than you've ever been in your life, then I'd say 'congratulations', you're having a good course" That's the name of the game, not just for BOSS, but for many other programs. People ask us to help them push through their percieved limts, and we oblige. As outdoor educators, we take participants down raging rivers, across potential avalanche terrain, and across hot, dry deserts. They confront fear, thirst, hunger, fatigue, blisters, and sometimes, death. We all walk a line, sometimes razor-thin between growth and disaster, and must make decisions about where they are, and just how far to "push" them. Yes, I've walked along side many students, even along the precise route followed by the course referenced above, and never "lost" anyone. I don't, even for a second though, believe that I have some special immunity to the tragedy that everyone involved must deal with for the rest of their lives. I feel I have "good judgement and experience", and yet I am also aware that those may fail me in some way when I most need them. We are all human, and risk is everpresent in what we do. We must filter a myriad of inputs to make the best decisions for participants and the programs. This was a personal tragedy, but I do not believe it reflects either on the integrity of the instructors, or the quality of the programs BOSS delivers. I would, without hesitation, allow my own son to participate in a BOSS course.

BOSS is special. The experience changed my life, and the lives of countless others (including that of my wife). In spite of these events, I truly hope that l such and opportunity to interact with the environment and ourselves in such a primitive, elemental way will always be a part of the outdoor education world. Risk is part of the game, and within "reasonable" (a matter of degrees, not black/white) parameters, must always remain so. Boss has llearned from the experience, adjusted their procedures and training, and intend to forge ahead.

We all have much to think about and learn from this... As my mother used to say: "there, but for the grace of God go I". I can close my eyes and see myself sitting with countless students alongside the same water source where this event took place. Why them, and not me?? Let us all be humble, aware, reflective, and move ahead with this business of helping our students discover their true potential.

re: Unnecessary Death in the Desert

paul emile — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:12:00 GMT

Time for reality check there Greg, the man died, the "instructors", I use the term very lightly, did nothing to prevent it. BOSS is an interesting program, but when you kill someone you better realize that maybe a program like that, Rambo-style, should take the final walk into the desert and not come back. When Outward Bound first started, it taught it's students how to hunt, set bird snares, fight fires, etc. plus only open to males. Do they still run that same type of program, hell no. It worked in the 60's but they adopted and changed to the times. If people want to go out and test themselves against the elements, fine, but let's make damn sure that the so-called "instructors/staff" know what the hell they are doing and realize the symtoms/signs of a person dying. It's called good judgement & experience. Hey, how about your rule # 2-"emergency", not in this case? I've run courses in some of the hottest places around, 21-28 day courses, Baja, Big Bend, Zion, Death Valley, never killed or had a student die. I think you need to look at the facts, & yes, the news media will play it up, but, the man died with staff present. In my book, that's pure negligence. P.S.-what does a women who can't sweat writing a wonderful article in USA have anything to do with the death of a person?

re: Unnecessary Death in the Desert

greg weiss — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:30:32 GMT

I've worked as an instructor for the Boulder Outdoor Survival School over the years and would like to give a little insight, even though I was not working that summer.

1st - Besides a lengthy apprenticship, every instructor who is giving the 28 day experience, had to take a field course themselves. They know what it's like to be in a students shoes and to go through this difficult period.

2nd - The instructor does not drink the water in their pack either unless it is an "emergency" (such as the water drop or natural oasis is empty) They carry the water specifically to give to troubled students.

As you all know, the news isn't the news without bias. People look for blame. Reporters look for a story. As an insider and someone who has led people through a similar 28-day experience in 115 degree heat, with no water, I can say that there is enough variability with not only instructor/program judgment, (as the published stories all seem to be finding fault with) but variability in body types and what an individual can handle, no matter how "good" the persons "heart rate" was before going on the course.

I can't say what happened on this course, but after reading through the articles, the reporting all seemed one-sided, sensational, and I imagine to any reader who has not gone through a similar experience, would judge this program as "over the top" from such reporting. From my experience this just isn't so and the experience is within the range of most people.

I remember on one of my courses a woman who did not have the ability to sweat...She wrote a wonderful article in USA Today about her experience.