So, you couldn’t find any ski partners, but today is your only day off this week and you are just dieing to ski that couloir you’ve been eying. The avalanche forecast is for moderate danger, with isolated pockets of instability in wind-loaded areas and the weather forecast is for bluebird skies. You decide to go for it alone.
Conditions are variable and you find some slabby areas that are a challenge to ski and look like they might rip. You try to stay to one side of the couloir to avoid the questionable snow, but a choke forces you to the other side. Just as you think you’re clear, the slope fractures, knocks you down and carries you downward. You’re not worried about being buried because it’s only a small slide, but you can’t escape it’s grasp and it slams you into the rocks on the side of the couloir. You feel a shooting pain in your leg.
As you come to a halt on a fanning apron below the line, you start to panic. You’re leg is broken and there is no way you are going to be able to ski out. Your heart-rate finally slows down a little and you remember the entry on SafeCheckIn.com this morning, where you indicated what time you were leaving, what line you were skiing, how long it would take and emergency contact information. Soon, a 24 hour service will attempt to notify you and contact emergency rescue personnel. After a few hours, you’re starting to shiver and your down jacket is soaked from lying in the snow. But in the distance…you suddenly hear something. Yes, it’s a helicopter and it’s heading right to your location. You are saved!!! And all for only $8.99 a month. Check it out…SafeCheckIn.com.
thats lame. who dosnt tell a friend where and when they’re going? 9 bucks a month? how much are they paying for you to promote they’re website?
I think more people than you think Martin. I know I have skied many times when no one really knew where I was headed…and often not in mellow terrain. Not good BC protocol…but it happened non-the-less. Luckily, nothing happened where I needed emergency assistance.
whats the difference in calling your friends or calling some service? “I think more people than you think Martin.” typo??? non-sense???
I could see SCI being ideal for many circumstances and trips; however there have been many trips in the past where I know signing in with it would have caused a false alarm rescue. Everyone misjudges estimated trip times, and adverse conditions can make a familiar and usually short trip much longer. I remmember this tour I did a while ago; the tour involved going over many differant passess and cols – being of varying aspect and elevation etc… approaching the last big up and over that particularly warm spring day, I uneasily noticed how deep I was sinking in the slopy spring snow. I thought it best to make the decision to wait until well into the night to ascend the very wet avi-prone slope, which with the help of cool night air and radiational cooling, crusted over enough to be safer for travel. That was a most unexpected and unforseen delay that cost me a lot of time. If I had to rush back to check in, I might have been tempted to base my decision around getting back so not initate a false alarm rescue.
However the consequenses of a false alarm rescue are outweighed by the consequenses of a life threatening situation which the SCI is designed for.
Martin, you have to understand that some people, especially those that live in far away mountains and have chosen a life of backcountry skiing, tend to live a very hermit-like and private lifestyle. I would also expect that there is some sort of time frame where the service waits before calling in the troops…like maybe 24 hours or something.
looks like a worthy service for sure, thanks for the tip steve.
Seems like a pretty cool idea…but what about just packing a PLB? Too much weight? A subscription to a service like The Spot is something like $12 per month with the added tracking feature. Pretty cool stuff. http://www.findmespot.com/en/
Until your batteries die of course…:cry:
Sorry but I’d have to agree with Josh. If you happen to be a Nigel no mates, a PLB has to be the way to go – no 24 hours of shivering your ass off before someone comes looking for you…
Seems like a good service at heart but i think there are a lot better systems out there for similar prices.
I would like to know more about how long it takes them to send help. Seems like if something went wrong, time is always key.
dont need a report about living in the intermountain west. if ya dont got at least one friend skiin cant do nothin 4 ya. nice forum though.
Good info. I would add that a major advantage of having your SafeCheckIn or other locator is to give your girlfriend or wife some peace of mind. Otherwise you get the big female frown striking out alone into the bc on your skis, mountain bike or long run.
I have enjoyed the discussion about the value of a service like SafeCheckIn. I would like to point out a few misconceptions. First about when we “call out the dogs”. That is determined by the member. They can chose from immediate notification or as much as a six hour delay. So there is no “24 hour” delay or excessive false alarms. We do have a process in place to contact members that are overdue or into their delay to avoid alerting people without cause. Second is the ignorance of today’s living situation for millions of single people. It is a fact that 42% of households today are occupied by a single individual. Millions of people relocate every year for work, family situations and lifestyle choices. Assuming that everyone has a viable support system because you have a close circle of friends or family is simply being clueless to what the real world is.
Finally, is the issue of cell phones and GPS devices (i.e. Spot). The comment about “till the batteries die” is a strong point but only one of a few misconceptions about tech toys. Phones often do not get signals even in urban areas. GPS needs a clear horizon to get a triangulation signal and do not work well in canyons, dense forest, or hilly/mt. terrain. Specific to SPOT is the fact that the information about the individual and circumstances of the person’s activity is difficult and incomplete for authorities to obtain. And what if you are physically unable to use your high tech toy?
From what I have seen from the comments it is apparent that most have not even bothered to go to the website before commenting. We have many happy and trusting members who can vouch for the value of our service. I look forward to seeing more discussion as it helps get the word out. Thank you for reading.