Bike Tour through Lesotho goes horribly wrong

[meteldog]

As someone has previously stated.... Always 3 sides to a story, however when it comes to medical issues and the safety of your guests there is no compromise.
Even if you think the person is being a naff and a softy it is their money that is keeping you going. rather err on the judgement of worst case scenario than make the wrong call and push them beyond their limits.


A happy guest means many returns.
A mate runs a motorcycle touring company and always has a medivac plan for every single day. Where and what hospitals and doctors available, What those hospitals are capable of treating ect ect.........
Also a prerequisite for his tours is that you have a good medical insurance in place. He and the other tour leader have all the details at all times. You cannot expect a person that is delirious to make decisions and pay for things.....

Just my 2c worth.

+1

[THROTTLE JOCKEY]

 

[Fudmucker]

From what Mr Zog has posted elsewhere on WD, paramedic assistance is available in that area of Lesotho from the mine along the road to Sani Top.
Had this paramedic care been accessed, the paramedic's assessment would have provided impetus for a chopper evacuation.
It would seem that they will NOT fly unless a medical person can justify the action - after all, such a flight costs in the region of R50K per hour!

This case was a baptism of fire that went from sorry to sad, bad to worse.
SOP's should be prepared in advance of each leg of any trip and discussed with the guests.
In any such situation, life comes first and property long after.
It is one thing to be facilitating a group of friends riding together up a mountain.
It is a different thing altogether to be doing this as a business with paying guests.
I have no idea what the rider's original problem was, but being clearly unfit to ride,
she never should have been allowed to ride, let alone required to ride... 

[Rynet]

Hectic experience .

I agree with a lot of the comments above.

Besides the obvious disregard for the safety of the rider by sending her alone in an ambulance in Lesotho , what worries me is the below .

Some Bike Tour operators in SA seem to think they have to push the riders on tour to Toughen them up  . It seems these riders were American women , why push them like this . It seems many of the riders struggled. The Tour operator should have by that time known if the riders were able to ride this route and should have had a Plan B in place , even if it meant riding all the riders bikes down one by one from the top or staying an extra day at the top . Not letting the riders ride and fall as they go along and then help them when they have already fallen , let alone a woman who was obviously very sick and apparently asked to not ride down . Why was the back-up vehicle full in the first place  ? 

The below , when dealing with a regular group of riders on a paid tour is worrying . Let alone someone with Sepsis .  She seems to make it the fault of the riders not being tough enough . She seems to be saying how much she enjoys the challenge as opposed to how the experience was for the riders and their safety . I think a tour leader should adjust the tour onto a Plan B to the capacities of the actual riders on that tour for safety reasons.

From Jo Rust's quoted Blog :

"Using another example from our last tour - one of the highlights on our tour was descending the famed ‘Sani Pass’ (Google it). On this day I lined up all the riders in order of experience and ability to follow me down the pass. Our medic and sweep rider always following at the back. I love a challenge and this was definitely a challenging day. I recorded on my iPhone's Health App that on this day I walked/ ran almost 10 kilometers (over 6 miles) and climbed 62 stories/ flights, helping clients to get down the mountain pass. As did the medic. We rode bikes down and would walk back up to fetch another bike and ride it down, at almost 10 000 feet in altitude. But this is what we are there for. To help you. And that’s exactly what we do.  (All I can say is thank goodness for crossfit!)

But I loved the adventure and the challenge of it. Honestly.

Though, I cannot ride every single person’s bike for them the entire tour. That’s why you need to do your research and know what you’re letting yourself in for. A tour guide/ leader or medic on tour cannot prevent everyone or anyone from having a fall or crashing a bike. It’s impossible. It’s your responsibility to take the best care you possibly can in ensuring your own safety at all times. Even if it means calling it a day.

[2StrokeDan]

American women......prepare yourself for a baby-sitting session of note.

Sani pass.......a tough challenge.

This is all because wanna-be "adventurists" watches reality TV like the Cardashians and Charley Boorman's long kak way round, up and down.

Why is their shit even news?

[J-dog]

American women......prepare yourself for a baby-sitting session of note.

Sani pass.......a tough challenge.

This is all because wanna-be "adventurists" watches reality TV like the Cardashians and Charley Boorman's long kak way round, up and down.

Why is their shit even news?

 

[TheBear]

Hectic experience .

I agree with a lot of the comments above.

Besides the obvious disregard for the safety of the rider by sending her alone in an ambulance in Lesotho , what worries me is the below .

By my understanding, it was in South Africa and if it was an ambulance from a reputable company I don't see much of a problem with that.  Of course, the idea that no one, not even the paramedic on duty was willing to accompany her in the ambulance is another story.

[Firecoast]

People don't sommer often complain as hectically as this woman did... unless you are a middle-aged divorced woman who just complains about everything for shits and giggles. 

But seriously, it seems odd that you would be forced to ride your bike down when you are ill. Surely one of the tour guides could have ridden her bike down for her and pillioned back with another guide to fetch the other bike. Poor show on the operator's side in my opinion.

I suppose hindsight is 20/20, but things could have been handled a lot better.

[0012]

American women......prepare yourself for a baby-sitting session of note.

Sani pass.......a tough challenge.

This is all because wanna-be "adventurists" watches reality TV like the Cardashians and Charley Boorman's long kak way round, up and down.

Why is their shit even news?

in the words of Dwerg ""whoa, we got a badass over here"   

[King Louis]

Hi all, please note that Jo Rust will answer directly soon.

[The TRANSPORTER]

People don't sommer often complain as hectically as this woman did... unless you are a middle-aged divorced woman who just complains about everything for shits and giggles. 

But seriously, it seems odd that you would be forced to ride your bike down when you are ill. Surely one of the tour guides could have ridden her bike down for her and pillioned back with another guide to fetch the other bike. Poor show on the operator's side in my opinion.

I suppose hindsight is 20/20, but things could have been handled a lot better.

+1.

Tour operator at fault. Looks like the operator must still learn that the customer must be kept happy and not visa versa .

Like someone previously said safety of all comes first and why insists that she must ride when she said she cant?

[Geel Kat]

But I loved the adventure and the challenge of it. Honestly.

When you do this as a business with customers paying rather substantial fees, the above should not even be a consideration nor mentioned.

Your only concern is the wellbeing of the customers, and once you have taken their money and you are on the trip the weakest participant takes priority, especially in the event of injury or illness.

You should plan for every eventuality, and having medical evacuation plans for every area you travel through should be at the top of the list.
This include crossing borders.

If you do end up having fun as a tour operator it is a bonus, not a requirement of the trip.

Yes, things go wrong which we do not plan for, or anticipate, but in this case I think too much might have been left up to chance, and too much focus on the operator having a paid for adventure.

Just my opinion.

[TheBear]

Your only concern is the wellbeing of the customers, and once you have taken their money and you are on the trip the weakest participant takes priority, especially in the event of injury or illness.

Your post is correct, but just keep in mind that you have more than one paying customer and some sort of balance is required.  Yes, the person who needs medical attention must be first priority, but you cannot just dump the other paying customers. It is for this reason that I stated in an earlier posts that I would not even consider accepting a customer who does not have the proper medical insurance.  The risk to the customer as well as the business and other clients becomes too high.

[Geel Kat]

Your only concern is the wellbeing of the customers, and once you have taken their money and you are on the trip the weakest participant takes priority, especially in the event of injury or illness.

Your post is correct, but just keep in mind that you have more than one paying customer and some sort of balance is required.  Yes, the person who needs medical attention must be first priority, but you cannot just dump the other paying customers. It is for this reason that I stated in an earlier posts that I would not even consider accepting a customer who does not have the proper medical insurance.  The risk to the customer as well as the business and other clients becomes too high.

Yes, you said it already.

[TheBear]

I tend to take anything I read on a blogg like this with with a rather hefty pinch of salt.   

[Geel Kat]

I try my best to ignore your posts, having about a 95% success rate at the moment, clearly it needs some work.

[m0lt3n]

Hi all, please note that Jo Rust will answer directly soon.

Awesome. Lets hope for a straight and not politically correct answer
as I smell something fishy!

[Casting from Turd]

Hi all, please note that Jo Rust will answer directly soon.

Awesome. Lets hope for a straight and not politically correct answer
as I smell something fishy!

Then wash your hands 

Waiting to hear as well

[0012]

I try my best to ignore your posts, having about a 95% success rate at the moment, clearly it needs some work.

 

[THROTTLE JOCKEY]

Let me ramble on a bit. You can choose how and where you want to apply my statement. 

IMHO!

I feel sorry for the poor Sherpa's that lug "adventure" seekers up mountains so that people who dont belong there can go home and say they had a "adventure".


Think about it!