Posts tagged search-and-rescue
Every year we read stories about people getting lost in a forest or in the mountains, with no way of calling for help. Sometimes this is due to a lack of experience, sometimes due to accidents, som...
If I use a space tarp (basically a heavy-duty reusable space blanket) as a sunshade or as a ground tarp with the shiny side facing up, do I need to worry that someone might see it and think that I ...
The textbook "Fundamentals of Search and Rescue" in Chapter 6 describes the priorities of needs in survival situations. The priorities listed are Air Shelter Rest Signals/Communication Water Food...
At significant risk of tin foil hat jokes, I’ve read compelling evidence that a homemade hat incorporating angled and crumpled aluminum foil may slightly increase a kayaker’s visibility on radar — ...
We were out on a night hike. A helicopter showed up, by behavior it was search and rescue, looking not too far away from our group. It might have simply been doing training, but if it was a real ...
If you are held back a few days by bad weather or some other unforeseen natural circumstance and you know emergency services are looking for you because you can hear the helicopters but you know yo...
Suppose I am out in the wilderness and an emergency arises. I have an accurate fix on my location (from GPS, map and compass, astronomical observation, etc...). I manage to get in touch with emer...
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) can be carried during outdoor activities to use in case of an emergency. But are there any guidelines on what exactly constitutes an "emergency"? For example, what a...
Say you are in the middle of a desert where there is lots of sunshine, and you are trying to signal for help with a signal mirror. Either in the distance there is a person, or there is an airplane...
Sometimes, people go into nature and go missing. A big search party is set up but they may be never found again. A morbid version of “leave no trace”. We probably all know examples: Joe Keller, ...
Decades ago, there was a proposal that there should be no-rescue zones for backpackers, in which backpackers would be entirely on their own, and rescue by government agencies would not be permitted...
I was talking to a friend on my lunch today about visiting the Tatra mountains in Poland and he said that an issue was the lack of mountain rescue if you get into trouble. Is this true, there is n...
It is good practice on a hiking or backpacking trip to leave a written plan behind with someone. Then if you fail to return by your estimated date Search and Rescue will have an idea of where to lo...
Modern flashlights have brightness up to several thousand lumens which is great. However it's not clear how bright a flashlight I might realistically need. Suppose I want to go on a search party s...
I'm about to take part in a Ski Tour across Iceland in a few weeks time, I've just noticed by travel insurance doesn't include Search & Rescue costs, here in the UK mountain search and rescue i...
There are quite a lot of questions concerning GPS device usage, however I couldn't find any specific information on more passive usage (as in waiting for rescue). Say I have a watch and a phone wh...
Suppose one is in distress in the wilderness, and is being searched for by planes or helicopters because they thoughtfully told their friends where they were going and when they'd be back. Alternat...
If mountain rescue teams in the UK were searching for a walker or climbing caught in an avalanche, would they start with a transceiver search? given that transceivers are infrequently carried by wa...
Following on from this question, what searching methods and techniques are best used in scenarios where a single group member (or perhaps couple of group members) become lost and separated from a g...
