03.05.2007 IDAHO

SAR has been busy in idaho since sunday night. Five calls to law enforcement for non-returning snow mobilers, hunters, hikers and tourists.

Only one has been worthy of the media so far.

Father & daughter dead - different cause -
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-mar0507-snowmobilers.20566fec.html

That's a sad shame, it doesn't say what exactly they died from, but I'm guessing it was asphyxiation?

Anyway, my father and I are heading up to NY state to go snowmobiling next week, so this definitely speaks to me. I'll be making sure we are extra prepared and taking extra precautions this trip.

Man, thats tough. Always sad to see something that wasentirely preventable if only one had known. That has to be a horrible recovery....

An hour on a sled is about the same time as the rest of your life on show shoes. Without broadcasting just where you are, it often becomes a body recovery effort.


PLB - 100% recovery
HAM(SERIOUS) - 75% recovery
DUMB LUCK - 50% recovery
CELL - NO COVERAGE

That is the one thing that, as of right now, we don't have. However, we do have a satellite phone, regular cell phones, GPSs (with the back up map/compasses), and FRS/GMRS radios. We also plan out the routes we're taking each day and leave it with family (with an approximate return time of course and we check-in along the way).

Hopefully that, combined with the survival gear we carry and our training, will be enough to keep us alive and rescued if the need arises. But, I'm definitely thinking of picking up a PLB or two and teaching my father about them. It seems like it's by far the best way to ensure rescue.

The satellite phones are absolutely great - if they work. Add a GPS and you are in business. The dropped calls by one of the manufacturers however, is so bad it has created rumors of bankruptcy. Monitor your provider.

Urban guests die in Idaho unaware that the whole world doesn’t have cell service.

FRS/GRMS works great to talk to the other sled that is lost with you. No one looking for you monitors FRS/GRMS. If you want to go the HAM route, declare an emergency, transmit "MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY" on IDAHO STATE COM (155.550) If you think Idaho SAR is in the area and looking for you - transmit on 155.160.

The standby recommendation of leaving details of your trip plan is greatly over rated. If you are lost, and can’t get one mile back to your rig, don’t rely upon your friend back in Boise to describe in great detail as to where your body is. He may be off 100 yards.

The “LIVE” experts always expound on the importance of staying put. In many cases they are correct. In many cases they are wrong. This year more have died with the vehicle than have died walking out.

"Always sad to see something that wasentirely preventable if only one had known."

I don't understand. The TV news and newspapers are constantly telling about babies left alone in bathtubs, families dying from asphixiation, smoking in bed, candles left untended, and all the rest. And they hear it over and over and over and over.

So, why didn't they know?

Sue

If you are a TYPE I ANALYTICAL, the answer is -

"HALF THE PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE BELOW AVERAGE"

If your sat phone happens to be of the Globalstar variety, it can also act as a very basic GPS with an accuracy of about 1/4 mile. Its a little known menu function under options that is only available during a call. I know it works on the GSP-1600, I don't know about the new GSP-1700. Essentially, it displays the current longitude and latitude of the phone in degrees and minutes.

Certainly, a separate (and much more accurate) GPS would be ideal, but if the GSP-1600 is all you have, that could be enough.

Craig.

"No one looking for you monitors FRS/GRMS"

True, unless, You state on your leave behind at home note something like

" I have a grms radio (charged) and will be listening/transmitting on #x chanel at the first and last five minutes of each hour."

Then SAR might stop by at Target and buy a set of radios just to look for you....

Teacher

(My reading on these radios shows between .5 miles ( ~1km) in dense woods up to 18 miles reception under perfect conditions. But even so, a 1 km radius is a big spot.)

" I have a grms radio (charged) and will be listening/transmitting on #x chanel at the first and last five minutes of each hour."
------------------------

Make sure you document your channel frequencies and privacy codes.

462.550
462.5625
462.575
462.5875
462.600
462.6125
462.625
462.6375
462.650
462.6625
462.675
462.6875
462.700
462.7125
462.725
467.550
467.5625
467.575
467.5875
467.600
467.6125
467.625
467.6375
467.650
467.6625
467.675
467.6875
467.700
467.7125
467.725

When the call goes out for a rescue in the wilderness area, there is ONLY one store on the way - CHEVRON. All tanks are topped off but no toys are bought. If you want to talk to SAR use voice on 155.160 Mhz and a rescue beacon on 122.500 Mhz.

Give us the PLB signal and you will only have to walk 100 yards to the horse.

Two lost snowboarders used the little personal radios to summon
help and direct searchers to them. We do have them on our SAR
truck and bring them if we know the lost have them with them.
More and more folks are using them. Leave off the personal security
codes and the radios have a scan feature. They are obviously not
as good as a PLB, but still something to consider for search teams.

Along those same lines, the 2300 news just reported that a family of three in Kent, WA, almost bit the big one. Seems that someone parked the family car in the garage, closed the outside door, and left the engine running. Apparently two adults never heard of carbon monoxide poisoning, or that you should turn the engine off when you are done with the vehicle...

The only problem with this is that 155.550MHz is not a HAM frequency. 2 meter HAM radio is 144 to 148.

I live in Boise and do most of my hiking in central Idaho (which is pretty much the black hole of cellular coverage) and have not been able to find much information on what radios or frequencies are in use. This is good information. I carry a 2 meter handheld with me and tell my wife if I come up missing I'll trasmit on 146.520 if I'm able and hope someone on the SAR is a ham. Any more information on this would be appreciated.

My wife and I decided that since I do a lot of solo hiking getting a PLB would be a good insurance policy and would give her a little more peace of mind while I'm out. It seems like a lot of money but it'll seem pretty cheap if I ever need to activate it.

The next time you are in the back country, give me a time you are transmitting and we will check for reception on 146.520. Just for my own information - who monitors this frequency?

You should also look into the HAM repeaters. If you can communicate with one of these, you can make a phone call. Monitor 146.620 - it is a HAM repeater. There are others.

155.520 is an IDAHO STATE COMMUNICATION frequency. You cannot transmit on it legally unless there is an emergency. It has very broad coverage within Idaho.