I don't take myself too seriously. I take safety seriously, or I would never have bothered to volunteer - it costs a lot of money to volunteer for SAR, a lot of training, and a lot of studying.

I am assuming your post was directed at me. The situation was entirely hypothetical - I NEVER go cross country hiking in the alpine by myself. I do not assume any rock is stable (the big ones do move) and I won't take the risks other people do, repeatedly. I DO know that people frequently go solo, and hope that they are blessed with the good sense to be adequately prepared for it, or to come back anyway. The majority of the time, it's easy to go out without a clue and come back still without a clue.

I post because this is the internet and I'm aware that many more read than post. If you want to claim survival skills are necessary, give specifics and info on where you would use one or the other, and why.

I cannot and will not post specifics on searches without permission, because doing so will get any volunteer (or sworn deputy for that matter) in a world of trouble. Our SAR team respects the privacy of the folks we rescue and also the policy of the law enforcement agency we work with to not divulge information on the activities of the sheriff's department. If you want specifics on searches there are a variety of accounts on some search team pages. There is a very good thread on High Sierra Topix written and posted by one of our recent search subjects, who was stuck in Tehipite Valley and received a helicopter ride to safety with us.