Forum Index > Trail Talk > Surviving a night out in winter
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
RichP
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5628 | TRs | Pics
Location: here
RichP
Member
PostSat Dec 31, 2016 8:28 am 
Posting this as a reminder to be prepared for the unexpected as we are in the backcountry in winter (or any time of the year). Have a safe and happy 2017. SHORELINE, Wash. -- Wally Fosmore, a former search and rescue volunteer, has kept a card in his wallet for almost 30 years. It's a list of the 10 essentials to survive in the wilderness. http://komonews.com/news/local/lost-in-the-snow-shoreline-man-survives-30-hours-in-the-mountains

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
PostSat Dec 31, 2016 10:51 pm 
If you have a smartphone (which most people nowadays do), take a minute to download a GPS app for it. That way you won't have to spend 30 hours outside in a winter storm and have KOMO news do a story about you.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
KevinDo
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 50 | TRs | Pics
Location: San Diego, CA
KevinDo
Member
PostSat Dec 31, 2016 11:10 pm 
If visibility were zero, according to his account, would that even help??

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
PostSat Dec 31, 2016 11:50 pm 
KevinDo wrote:
If visibility were zero, according to his account, would that even help??
Yes.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Gil
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 4057 | TRs | Pics
Gil
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 6:47 am 
No.

Friends help the miles go easier. Klahini
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 7:56 am 
Does GPS on a "smart" phone work when there is no cell phone coverage?

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
bk
Member
Member


Joined: 01 Jun 2012
Posts: 266 | TRs | Pics
bk
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 8:08 am 
Yes, GPS works independent of cell coverage. Example explanation here. (But if your life depends on the iPhone GPS working in super-cold weather, maybe the battery will go belly up upon reaching about 50% . . . as has been known to happen . . . redundancy is a good thing: e.g. a secondary, dedicated Garmin GPS, as a backup, running on AA's, is not so temperature sensitive as an iPhone lithium battery, it seems.)

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
dave allyn
Member
Member


Joined: 05 Apr 2011
Posts: 425 | TRs | Pics
dave allyn
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 9:00 am 
A GPS, on his phone or otherwise would almost certainly have helped. If you are using a regular GPS you'll want one you can download maps into and display them. Even in a whiteout you should be able to find your way. The cell phone will work without service, and should be in airplane mode so you're not wasting batteries. Keep the device inside your clothing so it stays warm. I've been using the Gaia app on my phone and I,m quite happy with it. I,ve used it several times this last year relocating myself on old unmaintained trails that disappear into heavy brush or downfall. I wasn't lost but it but it is much easier traveling on the trail remnants when you can find them. The lady who spent 29 days lost beside the Appalachian Trail could have found the trail in minutes with a GPS. As much as I love paper maps I,m rapidly become a believer that for most people a good GPS is a better option. Battery life is better than phones and they can be used for days if you leave them off and don't use the tracking and route recording. Pack along a couple spare batteries. I also recommend carrying some sort of signalling device, Spot, Inreach or PLB. I'm hoping with Garmin buying Delorme they will come out with inreach features on their large screen models. Being able to communicate with SAR is a big help to the rescuers trying to help you.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Navy salad
Member
Member


Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics
Location: Woodinville
Navy salad
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 12:27 pm 
bk wrote:
Yes, GPS works independent of cell coverage. Example explanation here.
Text from the above link (emphasis added): "The iPhone has four different radios: cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. You do not have to have a cellular or WiFi connection to connect to GPS but the phone will lock onto a location faster if it does have access to those. If you put the phone in Airplane mode, you turn off all of the radios." I know from experience that my Android phone does not lose GPS when I am in airplane mode, but the paragraph above seems to say the iPhones DO lose GPS when in airplane mode. Is this really true or is this article mistaken?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kbatku
Questionable hiker



Joined: 17 Sep 2007
Posts: 3330 | TRs | Pics
Location: Yaquima
kbatku
Questionable hiker
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 12:44 pm 
Huge fan of these, though I've never deployed one. I bring it on every day hike or outing where I'm not prepared to overnight - 13 ounce peace of mind. https://www.amazon.com/Blizzard-Survival-Sleeping-Bag-Bivvy/dp/B01MSLIP5N/ref=lp_8543305011_1_3?srs=8543305011&ie=UTF8&qid=1483299873&sr=8-3

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
HitTheTrail
Member
Member


Joined: 30 Oct 2007
Posts: 5452 | TRs | Pics
Location: 509
HitTheTrail
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 1:10 pm 
Navy salad wrote:
....seems to say the iPhones DO lose GPS when in airplane mode. Is this really true or is this article mistaken?
It is not true. I use Gaia on my old iphone 5 in airplane mode all the time. I think it used to be the case that airplane mode turned off the GPS but Apple saw the light and did a software update to change that.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jan 2013
Posts: 691 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snoqualmie, WA
Just_Some_Hiker
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 2:06 pm 
Gil wrote:
No.
I've descended mountains in total whiteout conditions using my GPS, so yes.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Kat
Turtle Hiker



Joined: 05 Oct 2003
Posts: 2560 | TRs | Pics
Kat
Turtle Hiker
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 2:22 pm 
Just_Some_Hiker wrote:
Gil wrote:
No.
I've descended mountains in total whiteout conditions using my GPS, so yes.
Ditto, navigated up and over Big Snow Mtn in a horrible whiteout with gps albeit still with much difficulty. When you can't see 30 feet in front of you that's a problem.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostSun Jan 01, 2017 4:45 pm 
It sounds like he was caught in blizzard conditions. I've been in winter conditions extreme enough to not be able to see the screen on my gps. He did the right thing and found shelter when he knew he was off route. I don't see the big deal of "surviving" 30 hours in the winter, though. The night conditions are not much colder than daytime and if the guy was snowshoeing by himself in the Chiwaukums, he should have had the gear to stay put for a long while until he had the visibility to navigate out of there.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Joey
verrry senior member



Joined: 05 Jun 2005
Posts: 2794 | TRs | Pics
Location: Redmond
Joey
verrry senior member
PostMon Jan 02, 2017 6:45 am 
Yes, one of the iOS versions changed airplace mode so the GPS works in airplane mode. I forget which iOS version made this change. I seem to recall a case some years ago at Rainier where a couple people died likely because their smartphone iced over and that messed up the phone's ability to get data from the GPS satellites. The story says the hiker was in cell phone contact before he was found and he blew his whistle to help the SAR team find him. Wonderful outcome! But what if he didn't have a whistle? Or he was too far from the SAR team for the sound of the whistle to reach them? This is why I am beating the drum that everyone needs an app on their phone that can display their coordinates and accuracy. Near the end of the ordeal this fellow was in cell phone contact. If he did not have a whistle or the SAR team could not hear it, then he could have simply called in his coordinates to 911.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trail Talk > Surviving a night out in winter
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum