Dale Matson
Iridium 9575 (Extreme)
I am usually alone when I
am in the mountains. Many would say that this is not prudent but this is
reality. I would prefer traveling with trail companions but none are usually
available. I usually stick to the trails and always let my wife know my travel
plans. I copy extra maps of the areas in which I will be traveling and give her
my itinerary. I’m not sure how closely the park and forest services monitor
your itinerary on your wilderness permit.
Additionally, I have
carried a satellite phone for the last ten years. On multiday trips, I call my
wife every night to verify my location and confirm that I am well. There are
some locations in the mountains where a cell phone will reach a distant tower
but it would be foolish to assume that the cell phone is a reliable means of establishing an emergency connection.
Some would argue that
having companions is better than a satellite phone and in some situations, this
is probably true. I know of two situations in the last two years however that
argue in favor of a satellite phone even when one has trail companions.
In the first case, two
men were traveling off trail in the Sierra National Forest high country. The
navigator fell and suffered a severe head trauma. His friend put him in a tent
and went for help but was lost for quite awhile before he was able to get a rescue
helicopter to take him back to his friend. In the meantime, his friend crawled
out of the tent and over a cliff. The helicopter flew out his body.
In the second case a
woman and two male companions were climbing a dome in the Sierra National
Forest and she was cut severely while
suspended and swinging from a rope. One friend went for help and the other
stayed with her. By the time help arrived, she had perished.
I thought to myself on
both occasions, if they had an emergency communicating device both people might be alive today. Additionally a person with an emergency device could help
someone from another party if they had a problem.
Ten years ago Globalstar
had good satellite coverage and I used their phones. The satellites prematurely
degraded and I was left with a small communication window. Eventually they
stopped charging me a monthly fee because they essentially had no phone
service. Since that time they have developed the “Spot”, a small device (< 8
ounces) that will send one way messages to let people know your status. The purchase
cost is relatively cheap and there is a subscription fee.
I bought a 9555 Iridium
satellite phone and it had generally good coverage. I have run into problems in
canyons. Sometimes a clear overhead sky is not enough. Iridium has the most subscribers including
most government agencies. The back country rangers in Kings Canyon have them
and some use a solar charger to recharge the lithium batteries. Two way radios
are not always dependable even with mountain top repeater towers. I was with
the SAR team in Humphreys' Basin and they used my satellite phone to get out
when the radios couldn't.
I recently traded in my Iridium 9555 for a 9575. The newer phone is a tad smaller, weighs in a little over 8
ounces, has a tougher case and is water resistant. It also has a red panic
button that functions a lot like a Spot system. One nice feature is that it displays
Latitude/Longitude. I pay the base monthly rate and per minute call rate. These
phones can also be rented. Some would
say this is a lot of money. I call it a life insurance policy.
My SIM card annual renewal date arrived and I was shocked to find that the basic plan had gone up from $500.00 to $700.00. There is an opportunity to add minutes up to 9 months after the expiration date. The "add minutes" plan is horrible with a one month, 2 month and 6 month option. The 6 month option costs what the 12 month option used to cost. At this point I plan on a 2 month plan during the summer that will cost about three hundred dollars. With other options like "Spot" available at lower costs, Iridium may be pricing itself out of the market with their satellite phones. It is also possible that cell phones may evolve beyond GPS to SAT Phones also. Anyway, I think this is price gouging and since the federal government uses Iridium, we are all paying for higher costs. I have also found the "middle men" to be terrible service providers. early this year, I found that I had no connectivity. There had been a software update and my service provider had not alerted me to that fact. A former provider had not payed their bills to Iridium and I did not have connectivity. Prior to that Global Star had nearly zero satellite coverage b/c of failures. This is not a rant. It is a fact of life.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've heard amazing things about the iridium satellite phone from Global Telesat Communications! It's incredible how they keep you connected no matter where you roam. Whether you're camping in the mountains or sailing across oceans, having reliable communication is key, and I've heard that these phones deliver just that. Plus, with their rugged design, you know they're built to withstand whatever adventure you throw their way.
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