Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Your duty when hiking with others - Inyo SAR 2014 Newsletter

Over the course of the past year, as Inyo County Search and Rescue has tackled challenges ranging from body recoveries in technical terrain to the coordination of a massive multi-agency search mission to the usual spate of long, cold, overnight medical emergencies at Trail Camp, our team has begun to realize its role not just in responding to disasters, but in working to prevent them.  Limited resources make it difficult for our small group to reach the wider public, but we hope that through this newsletter, pamphlets distributed at local visitor centers, and a new informational sign at the Mt. Whitney trailhead, we can begin to have an effect on the mentality of those who venture into our mountains.

As call after call makes its way through emergency dispatchers to our automated calling tree, it's easy to pick up on the pattern.  Overdue hiker, party separated, subject not seen since yesterday at 6am.  Overdue climber, separated from partner, last seen yesterday at sunset.  Patient with AMS, abandoned by party, needs assistance down from Trail Crest.  This is not a coincidence.  It's almost become a joke on our team:  Oh, there's a callout.  Let me guess.  They split up?

Mountaineering alone is a choice that anyone should be free to make, as long as they understand the risks and responsibilities associated with being on their own.  Yet traveling with others entails a different set of risks and responsibilities.  When you start a hike, climb, or ski with a group, you are accepting a share in the outcome of that adventure.  You have a duty to work together, to protect one another, and, in the event of an emergency, to help each other in any way you can.  There may be circumstances in which the only way you can help your partners is by temporarily leaving them.  But in the vast majority of cases, the safety of your group is greatly diminished when you split up.  If your partner is sick, stay with him until he feels better or help him descend.  If your partner is slower than you, adjust your pace.  Nothing -- not even the summit -- is more important than all of you reaching the trailhead together at the end of the day.

Everyone has heard the old acronym about what to do if you get lost: Stop, Think, Observe your surroundings, and make a Plan.  But there's an equally common-sense tenet of mountain wisdom that seems easier to forget:  if you're hiking with a partner, STAY TOGETHER.
Please spread the word.

Inyosar.com

I wish I would have found this article prior to my recent Dayhike on Mt Whitney. It is
made clear in this article that there is a common- sense tenet of mountain wisdom that says if you are hiking with a partner, STAY TOGETHER. We can choose to hike alone but when we choose to hike with others, we share in the risks and responsibilities and our common goal is for everyone to reach the trailhead together at the end of the day.

From another recent post which included SAR's instructions on 'communication' they stated ' if you must separate, be very clear about how, when, and where to meet, and what the expectations are.'

I agree that we have to think for ourselves and can't always stay together in every situation but there is a safe way of separating when hiking with a partner and or a group. Simply walking off on others without communication of any kind is not acceptable to me.

1812: How different are those from the frequently-sold FRS radios? The FRS are pretty useless without line-of-sight areas.

The ad you gave doesn't show any antennas. How long is the whip antenna you mentioned?

The ad you gave doesn't show any antennas. How long is the whip antenna you mentioned?

Our group of 5 had several radios pre-programmed on the same frequency. My buddy purchased a pair of these and then had others purchase one of their own so everyone had one: https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B007H4VT7A

With the whip antenna, you could make a connection from the trailhead all the way to at least the 99 switchbacks, and we were talking from the summit back down to trail camp. I think when we were halfway back to Lone Pine from the Portal, we could still communicate with a pair that hadn't made it all the way to the Portal yet. Not bad for $25 per radio.

As mentioned above, to legally operate that type of radio you need to have your amateur radio license. The technician licence test is pretty easy to pass and only costs like 10 or 15 bucks total for 5 years. With the introduction of the cheap chinese handheld radios it puts another tool in the quiver that may save you or help save someone else out in the middle of no-where.

I've got one of the ubiquitous Bao-Feng HT radios. Replace the stock rubber duck antenna with something like the dual band Diamond SRJ77CA and they are pretty decent little rigs. I usually pack mine in my backpack when I'm hiking and program with any repeater that I *might* be able to hit in the area. I also try to program in any NPS and USFS frequencies to monitor.

The other thing to remember, if it is a TRUE EMERGENCY then you can attempt to contact help on any frequency without repercussions from operating on a frequency that you are not licensed for.

Inyosar.com

I wish I would have found this article prior to my recent Dayhike on Mt Whitney. It is
made clear in this article that there is a common- sense tenet of mountain wisdom that says if you are hiking with a partner, STAY TOGETHER. We can choose to hike alone but when we choose to hike with others, we share in the risks and responsibilities and our common goal is for everyone to reach the trailhead together at the end of the day.

1812: How different are those from the frequently-sold FRS radios? The FRS are pretty useless without line-of-sight areas.

The ad you gave doesn't show any antennas. How long is the whip antenna you mentioned?

That said, please please please keep the signal to noise ratio as pure as possible. Needless chatter destroys the wilderness experience of others, so keep messaging to the minimum.