Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
"...have a sat phone. Could have avoided a search..."
Not always. I have seen NPS Rangers in the Mojave Desert, clear sky, no trees (duh), no cliffs (nearby), no nothing, be unable to make or receive calls on a sat phone...
My experience with Sat. Phones is the same as OBG.
I have carried a Globalstar Sat. Phone for about 4 years. At first it worked great but in the past 2 years I was unable to place calls due to poor coverage. Only in the past couple of months have I been able to actually make a few calls.
It has to do with expense. Getting all Sat phones would increase cost so much they would have to drop one of the instructors from the trip. They are on a quite tight budget. An instructor is much more useful than a Sat phone.
typical outward bound cheap cheezy macho crapola.. we are gonna fight momm a nature and win.." blah-blah.. my 2 courses in outdoor survival at 2 different comm colleges featured : ex viet nam vet /air born ranger type.. hillbilly from Pa.. and the other teacher was same, hillybilly from south ohio.. ex usaf.. radio intercept guy and special projects dude stationed in deuthchland, 1/2 kilometer from the fence"..i mean, who would u rather be lost out in the boonies with? your average nols or outward bound type, once they lose their 1800$ of back pack equipment produced in the 3rd world for like 43.57$-sold in us of A for 1800$ they are n big trouble..u keep challenging momma nature, u are in big trouble.. in hillyheaven where i grew up in upstate ny, allegheny mnt area- the old saying,we are not out of the woods -yet"applies..
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