"No one would give him water."

It was 100 degrees in the Utah desert.  Dave Buschow, a 29-year-old from New Jersey, hadn't had a drink for 10 hours.  And so he finally "dropped dead of thirst, face down in the dirt, less than 100 yards from the goal: a cave with a pool of water." 

This happened on "a wilderness-survival adventure designed to test [...] physical and mental toughness," run by Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS).

The guides, it turned out, were carrying emergency water on that torrid summer day.

Buschow wasn't told that, and he wasn't offered any. The guides did not want him to fail the $3,175 course. They wanted him to dig deep, push himself beyond his known limits, and make it to the cave on his own. [...]

What matters more: the customer's welfare or his quest? [...]

BOSS emphasizes personal growth through adversity, and using your wits to survive. The mantra: "Know more, carry less." [...]

During the 28-day survival course, held 250 miles from Salt Lake City, campers are required to hike for miles and drink what they can find from natural sources. [...]

During the early phase of the expedition, participants can drink water at the source only and cannot carry it with them.

Anybody who has a chance to carry water when setting out into the summer desert, and doesn't, or is not allowed to, is hardly learning to "use his wits to survive."  This goes to show what happens when "adversity" becomes a luxury item.

The course is intended to push people "past those false limits your mind has set for your body."

"Somewhere along the many miles of sagebrush flats, red rock canyons, and mesa tops of Southern Utah — somewhere between the thirst, the hunger and the sweat — you'll discover the real destination: yourself," BOSS says on its Web site. [...]

Dave Buschow discovered the real destination, all right.

[H]e was a man in deep trouble hours before he collapsed.

"We were all desperate for water," a camper wrote. "Every time (Buschow) would fall or lie down, it took a huge amount of effort to pick him back up. His speech was thick and his mouth swollen." [...]

The sun was described as blazing, inescapable. "There were no clouds," a camper wrote.

Some people vomited that day, including a man who got sick three times — a typical misery on the rigorous course, according to BOSS. Buschow was suffering from leg cramps about 2:30 p.m. and said he was feeling "bad."

During a break, he mistook a tree for a person and said, "There she is."

"This was the first point at which I became concerned knowing that delirium happens when dehydration becomes severe," a camper wrote. [...]

By 7 p.m., as the sun descended and temperatures cooled a bit, the group approached a cave in Cottonwood Canyon, known to BOSS guides as a reliable source of water. [...]

Within earshot of people exhilarated about the pool of water, [Buschow] collapsed for the last time.

"He said he could not go on," staff member Shawn O'Neal wrote two days later in a statement ordered by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. "I felt that he could make it this short distance and told him he could do it as I have seen many students sore, dehydrated and saying 'can't' do something only to find that they have strength beyond their conceived limits."

O'Neal didn't inform Buschow about his emergency water.

"I wanted him to accomplish getting to the water and the cave for rest," he wrote. "He asked me to go get the water for him. I said I was not going to leave him. ... Shortly thereafter I had a bad feeling and turned to Dave and found no sign of breathing." [...]

Five people took turns trying to revive Buschow while red biting ants crawled over his face. A rescue helicopter from Page, Ariz., arrived about 90 minutes after he passed out, but a defibrillator failed to jump-start his heart. Campers gathered in a circle for the news: "Dave is dead." [...]

Buschow's death was caused by dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, according to Dr. Edward Leis, Utah's deputy chief medical examiner, who found no evidence of drugs or other factors. [...]

[A] camper who performed CPR [...] said no one was told that BOSS guides carried emergency water, but "I heard it slosh" in a pack. [...]

[The camper], who has a master's degree from Dartmouth College and is trained in wilderness first aid[, said,] "One thing that BOSS offers you is an opportunity to push yourself physically into the red zone. ... He was 200 feet from the water. Is that the point where you give it to him? Or 500 feet?"

In a real-life survival situation, a master's degree from Dartmouth will probably get you a Darwin Award.

BOSS has its ass pretty well covered:

While regretting the tragedy, the school, known as BOSS, has denied any negligence and instead blamed Buschow, saying the security officer and former Air Force airman did not read course materials, may have withheld health information and may have eaten too heavily before leaving River Vale, N.J., for the grueling course.

Noting Buschow signed liability waivers, the school said: "Mr. Buschow expressly assumed the risk of serious injury or death prior to participating." [...]

His brother, Rob Buschow, said: "It's sickening when they blame the victim."

Moral of the story:  beware of macho yuppies. They're some dangerous dudes.

R.I.P., Dave Buschow:

(H/T: Memeorandum.)

Comments

[Melinda]

Gee, poor BOSS.

Why was that @sshole Buschow making them wrong by dying like that?

[PatHMV]

Buschow certainly deserves his share of blame for his own death. Sounds like nobody lied to him about the program, and they warned him of the dangers.

However, even idiotic people who choose to do idiotic things deserve some protection. At the least, BOSS should have given the participants some kind of safety word which they could use to get water immediately; people generally know when they are really at their physical limit.

And I hope that Mr. O'Neal suffers nightmares for the rest of his life, reliving the moment where a man died because O'Neal wouldn't give him a drink of water as he lay there begging for it with his dying breath.

[PatHMV]

Incidentally, Amba, the existence of courses like this reminds me of the discussion we had the other day about spiritual brawls. Like the folks who pay thousands of dollars to gurus promising to unveil the secret mysteries of life, they are questing for some deep, dark secret that's not really there. They want to "discover" themselves, and are willing to pay any price to do so... but will not sit back and accept the simple truth.

In law school, students often accuse the professor of "hiding the ball," of knowing the real answer but purposely not telling us. But there is no ball; the students who finally understand that are the ones who do well. The secret answers are all out in the open in the cases the professor gave us to read.

[rick robotham dvm]

Dave's ordeal makes me sad.
Without knowing all details, I can only say medically this trip was so very dangerous. Renal and cardiovascular shutdown....bad stuff.
Dave dug deep into his life's spirit but only got about six feet deep. I will pray for him and the genius behind the trip.
We are pushing the limits more than needed. Reality shows which for entertainment value reveal shadows of human meaness. Isn't the news bad enough?

[Icepick]

OTOH there is at least one course without grade inflation.

[Damozel]

I wonder if the liability waivers will hold up. I am not sure, based on the details that this isn't something more than negligence, even verging into intentional/reckless territory. Public policy ought to prevent this school or "school" from asserting this waiver/release as a bar to an action. I am not sure that withholding water counts as pushing someone into a red zone.

Horrific.

[PatHMV]

Icepick - nor is any grading done on the curve...

[amba]

Thank you, Damozel, I agree. Anyone who cannot distinguish severe dehydration from wussiness should not be leading a "wilderness-survival adventure."

[karen]

Sick.

"..& when i was thirsty, you gave me to drink...".

People may be evolving on some level, sure- but, devolving in a completely indecent way, the other.

[maria]

I worked in Utah as a guide for a Wilderness Therapy program (for kids/young adults with ODD and drug issues, etc.) Not the same kind of thing, but the same environment and the same 'push your limits to find your strength' philosophy without being bootcamp. This would never have happened under my watch or anyone else's there - Staffers should be trained at a minimum in Wilderness First Response and be fully aware of the specific physical dangers the desert holds and how to spot them. I know from bitter, hot, bruised and exhausted experiences of my own: Learning your limits and pushing yourself beyond them is about taking care of yourself as you do so. You go a lot further and learn a lot more about real life that way. This is inexcusable, and I hope this place is shut down.

[amba]

Amen, Maria. Amen.

This story haunts me more and more as the day wears on.

[BrianOfAtlanta]

When someone is hot and begins hallucinating that's a serious signal that the victim is suffering from heatstroke and will soon be leaving the "red zone" for the dead zone. The fact that the guide ignored such an obvious warning sign (and probably others) is scary.