The second the weather turns to shit, you're out there.
I was doing the standard on Hood and came upon a guy who'd been struck in the chest with a rock and was only partially conscious. Weather was coming in. I did cell phone in a rescue...it took another 8 hours for a chopper pick him up...even though we were basically just above the Timberline ski area. I can't believe anyone who knows what their doing relies at all on any guarantee of quick rescue...or rescue at all. I don't.
I was thinking that on Lib Ridge recently. All the technology in the world isn't gonna save your ass if it all goes wrong high up.
A lot of popular mountain spots have no cell service. Road access is worse than it used to be, and there aren't that many, if any more, mountain flying helo pilots available for rescue than there were a couple or more decades ago. There are probably more SR folks, but has the percentage of technical climbing SR folks gone up? Hmmm....
Of course, fifty + years ago there was nada. If, in fact, folks nowadays are less prepared for self-rescue, and their are more gumbies out there, are the average chances for surviving an accident more or less nowadays?
I think 20 or 30 more pages here may well resolve this issue....