Decisions,Responsibility, and Consequences

I’ve been reading a sad story about a death on the mountains. A news report about a court case. A couple were on one of the highest mountains in Austria when they ran into difficulties. The man went for help, leaving the woman high on the mountain in freezing conditions. She died from hypothermia before help arrived. The man was reported to be a far more experienced climber and had failed to take appropriate measures to keep the woman safe according to the court and was found guilty of causing death by negligence. He had apparently not advised her to use more suitable boots, had not wrapped her in a survival blanket, and was reported to have declined earlier offers of help when they could both have been rescued.

Interestingly, the woman’s family refused to blame him, saying that she was an experienced mountaineer and that the reports had understated her level of experience. The wrong decisions may have been made but it was not all his responsibility. A tragic case for all concerned and one which raises many questions - about mountaineering protocols, about duties of care, and about power and responsibility. I’m not suggesting any answers, but the poem below seeks to see things from different perspectives.

Death on the peak

 GOSSIP

He’s the one, by the counter 
buying provisions for a trek 
not learned anything apparently
Still out on the mountains 
On his own now I bet
Who would want to go out with him 
not come back, end up dead?

Can’t get the image out of my head 
frozen body 
young woman gone 
all alone in her last hours 
deserted 
left slipping away 
as he slipped away for help 
that never came

HIM

If he lived to be a hundred 
she would still be with him 
whispering in his ear 
telling him she’s cold 
while every decision he makes 
is freighted with responsibility

walking the street in the aftermath
difficult, scary, plenty of people
who would have made a different decision 
and are happy to tell him so

but she’s still dead
not an outcome he wanted
not an outcome he’s suspected of wanting
rather he’s suspected of not thinking
not bothering
of undue haste
of pure, undiluted stupidity

And he will regret that
rue the day
all his life
with a dead woman whispering in his ear

HER

I follow him in this half life
whisper in his ear 
that it’s not his fault
Others blame, condemn
I don’t
I remember the good times
the love
and know he did what he thought was best
he needs to know I feel that
know there’s nothing to forgive
and only then will I 
get some rest











Image courtesy of Pavel Matejicek under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.