Staying Connected in the Backcountry
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Dr. Bill Morgan didn’t need to look far for a teachable moment during the annual Saint Alphonsus Ski & Mountain Trauma Conference held at Sun Valley.
He simply pointed to a dramatic helicopter rescue that took place in September 2016 on the 11,865-foot Devil’s Bedstead East a few dozen miles east of Sun Valley.
That’s where 25-year-old Avery Shawler, who managed the Wood River Wolf Project at the time, fell on fresh snow that had melted and turned to ice. She broke three ribs, her left arm, her right knee cap and her left eye socket.
Shawler had a DeLorme InReach global satellite device with her. But, she said, she had forgotten to charge it. So she tried her cell phone 19 times without getting a signal. Finally, on the 20th try she got through to Blaine County dispatch, which enlisted the aid of Custer County Search and Rescue and Two Bear Air Rescue’s twin-engine Bell 420 helicopter. Rescuers found her within an hour, saving her from possible hypothermia as night was setting in.
Ironically, Shawler had one of the best tools there is for signaling for help—if only she had charged it, said Nate Smith, director of Mountain Education and Development (MED), which instructs clients around the world on remote first response and wilderness medicine.
DeLorme communication devices cost about $300 with monthly fees of $12 to $100, depending on the options the user chooses. They have extended battery life and allow users to text back and forth. It has an interactive SOS.
They accurately track users’ locations with built-in navigation with waypoints and routing. And they can be paired with a mobile device to access topographic maps and NOAA charts.
“Back home friends can follow you on a map. And you can send them preset messages, like ‘Leaving the trailhead,’ ‘Made it to camp’ and ‘Done for the day,’ without it costing anymore,” Smith said.
“In contrast, satellite radio, which has been so popular, is expensive and bulky. It doesn’t always work, and its battery life is far shorter,” he said.
Smith spoke on using technology in the backcountry at the conference, which was founded by Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Richard Moore in 2006 after a Ketchum woman became paralyzed in a ski accident.
“The conference is the only conference of its kind in the United States,” said Moore. “It’s committed to raising the level of hands-on care. It’s through conferences like this that we get to do it better tomorrow.”
Anyone using the backcountry should know how to use a map and compass, despite all the technological devices available, Smith said. But the handheld GPS is rapidly becoming obsolete.
“Maps have to be updated—it’s just one more device you have to keep charged,” he said.
Smith said he encourages backcountry users to carry a smart phone with a reliable GPS in a waterproof case.
There are a variety of map apps that can be downloaded onto the phone.
You can, for instance, view and download more than 70,000 U.S. Geological Survey and Canadian topographical maps for just $7.99 (http://topomapsapp.com/). GPS maps covering the world can be downloaded for $19.99 but, Smith said, they tend to be a little confusing to follow.
Google Earth maps can be downloaded free of charge.
“It’s absolutely incredible how good the apps have gotten,” Smith said. “You can use a little button to pinpoint where you are and put in waypoints to figure out how long it will take to get to your next waypoint. Community members can even add notes, icons or photos to maps.”
Smith has tested the maps and devices around the world from Kenya to Ecuador. And, he said, they’re pretty accurate.
“That’s good because these small details can become really big concern when you’re out there,” he added.
Smith says he carries a $40 charger for his phone that provides 10 watt hours when he’s out for extended periods of time. He carries a 50- or 100-watt hour lithium pack with a solar panel that folds to the size of a book.
He also carries a backup stick that he keeps in a Ziploc bag with the cable.
“I tell clients on expeditions that they’re welcome to take pictures or notes on their smart phone. But, as they have to begin using a backup stick, picture and note taking stops. At that point, they use their phone for emergencies only.”
THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE
This year’s Saint Alphonsus Ski & Mountain Trauma Conference will be held Nov. 2-4 in Sun Valley. There will be more than a hundred simulation sessions dealing with things like caring for wounds in the wilderness, managing hypothermia and frostbite, bear attacks and the essential systems of survival.
The conference will also look at new technologies, including the use of drones in search and rescue. Fees start at $175 and include lunches. For information, go to https://www.saintalphonsus.org/ski--mountain-trauma-conference.