I asked Steve House comment on this since he had a first experience with GR recently in Canada. Let's see what he says...
Even though Canada may be different from Bolivia, Switzerland or Pakistan ....
I friend of mine a few weeks ago injured his foot while climbing in the Swiss alps. He was able to walk back to the hut but he could not descend from the hut to the valley.
He contacted GR but things were a bit complicated (I do not have more details). Eventually he waited a day in the hut and eventually somebody helped him to get down. In Switzerland the charge you 2800 Francs for a rescue...
I am curious about this issue because I climb a lot in the Alps in Frace, Italy and Switzerland and soon I will be planning a climbing trip to Patagonia...I am member of the AAC and of the Italian Alpine Club, the membership this last one would pay for any rescue in the Alps.

Thanks for sharing, Steve and way to go on the remarkable recovery! Just to clarify, did you have the supplemental coverage during your Mt. Temple accident or no? For others, the 160-mile radius from home limit only applies to the supplemental coverage by GR, not the basic AAC benefit, IIRC.

welle wrote:Thanks for sharing, Steve and way to go on the remarkable recovery!

Yes, thanks for chiming in with feedback about GR from an actual user. (Whaddya think, gang...should we have a page in SP Gear for rescue services/insurance reviews?)

I bet I speak for a lot of folks here in saying good luck on your continued recovery and we look forward to you getting back to being...well, Steve F*cking House!

Can't wait to read about the new line on K2!

Hi Steve and welcome to SP.

Thanks for posting your first-hand account regarding Global Rescue. We had a similar post on the site a while ago with a GR rep chiming in but, in my opinion, the rep failed to fully explain their service and the post sort of died. Anyway, I'm sure the members here look forward to hearing more from you.

By the way, I was up in AK when your gear arrived at TAT in May 08. Just how short are you?

I'm glad things turned out OK for Steve H.

It's interesting that his case was not provided by the GR rep as the elusive case where coverage was provided after local SAR had already initiated the evac. Not to be cynical, but I wonder if a less public figure would receive the same treatment from GR.

Off Thread Comment but one that holds so very true and am thankful that you Steve House are honest enough to come to terms with....

From your blog:

" I fell because I was 100% sure I would not fall. Or at least I fell such a distance, around eighty feet, for that reason. I did not give as much attention to my protection as I would have if I was scared or intimidated by the pitch. I wasn’t scared at all. Quite the opposite: I was rushing. I was climbing as if I couldn’t fall. As if I was invincible. I was being cocky.


It’s true what they say, that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I now know how big I am."

One of the most powerful statements that I have read in a longass time. One that I must remember to not allow myself to ever think. One that I need to always keep in the back of my mind each every time I go out. The mountain will prevail each and every time. We are just all allowed a brief moment to experience it and any lack of respect we may show on any adventure, will indeed result in our demise, not the mountains. With that respect comes a very powerful responsibility to always do what is right and to always have fear prevail in our moves and motives. That fear will indeed keep up us alive. That fear is that little voice that we must ever never shut off nor ignore, ever.

Thanks Steve for your sincerity and honesty. Hope things are progressing for you so that you can return to what you love doing the most in this life.

BTW, welcome to SP!!!