Re: lost climbers on Mount Hood

dold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Ron Lee <nospamronlee@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I never assume cell phone coverage. Hence the PLB

But they had a cell phone. And it worked, except for the battery level.
Maybe temperature had something to do with the reduced battery life.
11,000 feet up, they might have been above the antenna pattern of local
towers, but Cingular and Verizon both show some coverage in the area.

Let's rephrase then: never assume cell phone functionality. It's a
consumer-grade device, not an industrial one. A personal locator beacon
is designed to withstand weather conditions and physical impacts that
would make consumer device choke or just outright fall apart. And, the
PLB works via satellite detection, not by ground tower transmission so
it's darn near guaranteed to be visible. You also don't have to dial
anything or talk to anyone or rely on someone being on the other end.
They. Just. Work.

Climbing mountains is dangerous. People spend hundreds or thousands
of dollars in acquiring the proper gear to keep them out of trouble,
yet so many stop short of spending the last $100 on renting a locator
that can help them if they /do/ get in trouble. It boggles the mind.


Cheers,
John

--
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