Mount Adams

[milzey344]

In an emergency, will a cellphone work on Mount Adams? Is a SPOT locator a good purchase? Do they really work? I have Verizon cell service.

Edited May 2, 2012 by milzey344

[RaisedByPikas]

I have made phone calls at the lunch counter but it might not have been on verizon. In general it is not good to depend on a cell phone for emergencies. A SPOT or PLB would be a much better choice for emergencies.

 

If you know how to self arrest the most likely reason for needing rescue on Adams is if you get lost in a white out and end up on a glacier or in the trees on the wrong part of the mountain. Good map skills and a GPS will prevent this.

Edited May 2, 2012 by RaisedByPikas

[rob]

Is a SPOT locator a good purchase? Do they really work?

 

I would never recommend a SPOT locator -- if you want an emergency beacon, buy a real PLB, like this one. This is the one I purchased for my parents.

 

The SPOT is sort of a Fischer-Price "My First PLB" and it relies on a commercial, civilian call center and the GlobalStar satellite system that is already being abandoned by users of satellite phones for it's poor coverage and reliability -- and they'll charge you for the privilege. I used to volunteer with a SAR/Mountain Rescue unit and the few times I was involved with a SPOT emergency, it was always a total clusterfuck working with the cheap, hourly employees in their call-center. I remember one time it took them several hours just to figure out how to contact us, and they were useless at helping us actually pinpoint the subject.

 

I borrowed a SPOT once for a winter Rainier trip -- I was there for like 4 days and I could never once get an "I'm OK" message out through the cloud cover. Or some other reason. But it never worked. Good thing there was no emergency!

 

A real PLB actually transmits on a free, government-operated search & rescue satellite network which is monitored by NOAA and will work anywhere on the planet, for free, and typically have a local radio "ping" so that you can be pinpointed once help is in the area.

 

Cheers!

Edited May 2, 2012 by rob

[JDCH]

The advantage of the spot however is being able to check in with loved ones at home to let them know that you are safe and/or have completed your goal. I have used the spot all over the Cascades, New England, and Russia, and I have had no problems or issues whatsoever. Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears as though the PLB (at least the one that you referenced) does not allow any contact outside of emergencies. The annual fee is certainly worth it(at least to me) to be able to let the ol' lady at home not worry quite as much when I venture up into the mountains.

[RaisedByPikas]

The ACR ResQlink lets you purchase a subscription where you can send something like 60 tests w/o gps location or 12 with gps location to an email address before needing to send it in for a new battery.

 

If you let the people at home know that a test means that you are ok then you can send them when overdue or if spending an unplanned night out but are still ok.

[rob]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears as though the PLB (at least the one that you referenced) does not allow any contact outside of emergencies.

 

You are correct, it is a proper emergency device, not a commercial wilderness message service that masquerades as an emergency device.

[milzey344]

Thanks for all the good advice!