Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion How to get help on Whitney

Here is an article by Inyo SAR, on preparedness before a trip up Mt. Whitney, and how to get help if you get into trouble:

http://inyosar.com/how-to-get-help/

The article answers a lot of questions that we see repeatedly on this forum. Perhaps it could be inserted as a special entry in the forum, at the top of the list of entries?

A PLB is the only way to get help if no one is able to walk out. Otherwise, you sit around until your absence is noticed and you are reported as overdue. That could take days that you might not have to spare. I bet that guy who got his arm stuck under a rock and had to self-amputate would have loved having a PLB.

Here is a report about a guy who fired up his PLB. Two hours later a helicopter appeared.

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=101398#Post101398

Interesting that they advise calling 911. Who to call if there is cell reception has been the topic of discussion before. Some say call the county sheriff first. Only the sheriff can initiate SAR. 911 is mainly for traffic accidents. At least, that is the argument.

Backpacker magazine had an interesting article on how a cell phone can save your life. Cell phones exchange hand shake signals with the nearest tower. Even if the signal is too weak to make a call or send a text, these hand shake signals might still get through and can be used to get your general location.

Also, even if the phone shows no bars, call 911 anyway. Some cell companies block access to rival towers for ordinary calls. A call to 911 will always override such restrictions.

Yes, 911 is the most reliable contact with the local Sheriff's Dept. PLBs work most of the time, but often the SPOT "here I am" messages I send home never arrive, because the satellite link was weak - or the recipient doesn't read the SPOT email in a timely manner. I believe in multiple ways of communication: 911, PLB, other hikers, a loud whistle, etc., in order to help cover any blank areas of communication. In trouble we need all the help we can get.

Extremely valuable information. Thank you for posting it. Had I read vital information such as this I would have most likely had a different experience on my recent day hike on Whitney. Communication as a whole seems to be one of a few key factors missing before, during and after my hike with the person I went with. And remember, and it's true from my own experience, SAR states the following:

"If you must separate, be very clear about how, when, and where to meet, and what the expectations are".

Do not leave people behind, especially on Mt Whitney.

PLB's are superior to SPOT. The PLB's talk to NOAA satellites. If a NOAA satellite is not in immediate contact with a ground station, it will save your distress signal and forward it when a ground station comes into view. SPOT's talk to private satellites. If the SPOT satellite can't see a ground station, then your distress signal is lost. That's why SPOT's don't always get through. Which one do you want to bet your life on?

Spot system works if you understand that you need to keep it on for a while. It sends out a signal every 5 minutes, and some of them don't make it out -- I think it is more often that a satellite isn't overhead if you're in a canyon. If you're on a peak, every signal gets out.

If you use the "send help" signal, a transmission goes out every 4 minutes. I don't know how often the SOS signal goes, but I am sure it is sent at least that often. In the Sierra, the biggest problem is when you're in a canyon or have tree coverage.

I wouldn't hesitate to use Spot on any trip, though I'm planning on stepping up to InReach next year due to it's two-way texting features.

What's often overlooked with PLBs is that you have to actively trigger them, whereas if you leave tracking active on InReach (or, I guess, SPOT - I only use InReach), then if you're lost without triggering the device, there is a last known location for SAR. Likely, there us a cluster of locations at similar points, showing you've been there a while. Thus if you're unconscious or unable to reach your device, there is still good data. With a PLB there is no data.

On the latest firmware, my InReach used <50% battery in 9 days, with 20 minute tracking and sending/receiving maybe 100 messages over the period. I'm confident that on tracking only, it would last 30 days.

Biggest plus of the InReach, for me, is the weather reports. A backcountry ranger asked me for the latest updates (amazingly, it turns out that their InReachs aren't able to use the WX2INREACH weather service!).

About two weeks ago my brother was hiking with his dog for a week in northern Utah and had knee problems at 10,000 ft. Realizing that he couldn't make it down he activated his Spot device and within 2 hours a helicopter arrived and flew him down to the parking lot. It was an anxious two hours for us, but he was above the tree line and easily spotted. He's been hiking for the last 30 years. First time he's had to activate it. Thank God he had it. I don't know kind of Spot device he has, but it's an older model. He intends to purchase an updated model now though.