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Shawn Legere purchased his inReach satellite communication device1 in anticipation of solo climbing one of Colorado’s 14,000′ peaks. Little did he know that decision would have a lasting impact.
First OutingIt was mid-August, and Legere’s first outing carrying his new inReach device.
While descending Kit Carson Peak, Legere accidentally got off route. In his attempt to get back, Legere had to do a technical climb, but he ended up on a 5’ ledge with more than a 1,000’ drop on the other side and no way to safely climb down.
Legere was stuck — with no options but to trigger an SOS on his inReach device and start two-way messaging with Garmin Response℠, the 24/7-staffed international response coordination center.
To Legere’s disbelief, another climber made the same mistake and ended up stranded with him. Eventually, search and rescue team members were dropped off via helicopter and helped both climbers rappel down to safety.
Legere’s cousin, a designated emergency contact called by Garmin Response that day, immediately purchased two inReach devices — one for himself and one for his son.
The CousinSeveral years later, Legere’s cousin was mountain biking in remote western Colorado when one of his group members crashed. He had a broken sternum and internal bleeding and was declining quickly.
Legere’s cousin pulled out his inReach device and triggered an SOS.
Shortly after, a helicopter arrived on scene, and the mountain biker was transported to a hospital for emergency surgery.
“He absolutely would have died had it not been for the rescue that Garmin Response initiated,” Legere said.
Second IncidentA few years after his first SOS incident, Legere was backpacking in a remote part of Glacier National Park in Montana and came across two fellow hikers — a married couple.
The wife was not doing well. She had severe nausea and was consistently vomiting. Despite efforts to get fluids and electrolytes into her, she didn’t improve overnight.
Legere was the only one at the remote campsite with a form of satellite communication, and they collectively agreed he would trigger an SOS for her.
After communicating the situation to Garmin Response, a helicopter was dispatched to the scene with a medical team.
Legere met up with the couple later.
“She was told that her electrolytes were incredibly low and that she would have likely died within hours if we had not gotten her out,” he said, adding that the couple promptly bought their own inReach device after the experience.
The CoupleNow equipped with an inReach device, the couple Legere had previously assisted were backpacking in Colorado’s Capitol Peak area.
En route, they encountered a family needing help. The mom had broken her lower leg badly while hiking.
In a reversal of roles, the couple triggered an inReach SOS to initiate a rescue for the woman. Eventually, she was flown via helicopter to a hospital.
According to Legere, the couple was praised by the responding search and rescue team for being prepared with an inReach device and able to summon help directly to the location of the hurt individual.
ConclusionThat’s as far as Legere’s cascading inReach story goes — to his knowledge, at least. He sees a silver lining to the various incidents over those years: more people being inspired to carry inReach devices in case of unforeseen emergencies in the backcountry.
“It is really amazing how my first event had such a domino effect, leading to more people going into the backcountry better equipped and impacting so many lives,” he said.
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post The Domino Effect of One inReach® SOS appeared first on Garmin Blog.
It was 2 p.m. when Evy Schrager announced to her fellow hunters that she was heading back to the truck where her husband and father were waiting and glassing the valley.
But an hour and a half later, Evy hadn’t arrived.
The other hunters in the party had made their way back to the truck, and there was no sign of her along the way. The trail was wooded but well-defined. She should have been back much sooner.
“My heart sank,” said her husband, Jeff Schrager. “We had not seen Evy since she left with them earlier in the day.”
It was the last week in October at 8,000’ in the Jarbidge Wilderness Area of Nevada. The forecast that day was clear and mild, but stormy, cold weather was predicted that night. Evy had a whistle, raincoat and fleece liner, but she had left her phone, Jeff’s inReach® device, fire starter and other safety equipment back at the truck — thinking she would not need them for a day hunt with companions and being so close to the vehicle.
“We feared she may have been injured or attacked by a mountain lion and dragged away from the trail so as to not have been seen by the others when they returned to the truck,” Jeff said.
Everyone packed warm clothes, flashlights and survival gear and headed back to the trail to search for Evy. They decided that if she was not located by 5 p.m., Jeff would trigger an SOS message to Garmin ResponseSM, the 24/7-staffed international response coordination center, on his inReach device to initiate a full search and rescue (SAR) response.
They went back to where Evy had first separated from the other two party members and found nothing, so they split up and continued looking and calling for her.
There was no trace of Evy.
Evy Schrager grew up hunting and fishing with her dad, brother and cousins, and she has traveled and hiked all over the world. She’s no beginner in the backcountry.
While heading back to the truck that day, she lost her footing and slipped in an unfortunate part of the trail — falling down a steep ravine.
Though unhurt beyond some bumps and bruises, she found herself at the bottom of the ravine with no safe way to get back to the original trail and with no form of communication. Her only choice was to head farther down the ravine and hope to locate the trail.
Eventually, Evy found a trail that looked familiar and walked it for several miles, only to realize it was not the correct trail. By then, she was truly lost. Noting that there was limited daylight remaining, Evy enlisted the survival methods she had available — climbing up on a big rock, putting on her bright red rain jacket to be more visible and blowing her whistle over and over.
Jeff was just about ready to trigger an SOS when his inReach device pinged. It was a message from another inReach device — a hunter they had run into earlier that day.
“We found Evy. This is Josh Munns. My son is the 12-year-old with the tag.”
Jeff couldn’t believe what he was reading. He messaged back for more details.
“She is OK. Just exhausted.”
Jeff began crying, relieved and joyous.
“Josh’s timing was perfect,” Jeff said. “Had he not texted me from his inReach when he did and just simply hiked out, no doubt we would’ve initiated a call for a full SAR response very shortly thereafter.”
Josh Munns happened to be in the area where Evy was lost and heard the whistle. From a distance, he could see something bright red, so Josh and his son made their way over and found Evy sitting on the rock.
Josh had the foresight to send an inReach message to Jeff, and then they hiked Evy to safety.
That night, the predicted storms rolled through. Reunited and lying safely in their tent, Jeff and Evy listened to the rain and wind outside, grateful that nobody — Jeff, Evy or a search and rescue team — was out in the weather, and, according to Jeff, especially thankful “for placing Josh and his son where they were and when, and for Josh’s inReach.”
As for Evy, it was a reminder of how important having a source of communication is in the backcountry, no matter how experienced you are or how short the excursion is.
“The Garmin inReach should be standard equipment for any outdoor activity,” she said. “When you think you won’t need it is when you are going to need it.”
Notice: Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post inReach Devices Prevent a Search and Rescue Event appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Husband-and-wife divers Eric and Nicole DeHaven were on a dive nearly 2 hours off the coast of a small Belize island when Nicole had a heart attack. Now they’re convinced an inReach® satellite communication device1 and dive case should be an imperative part of all divers’ kits.
Nicole DeHaven was 30’ deep into her dive when she was struck by an odd feeling: a pinching in her chest when she inhaled.
Not thinking too much of it, she took some deep breaths and continued to dive.
The further she went, the more pressure and pinching she felt. At 40’ deep, her right arm and hand started to tingle. She couldn’t identify the feeling, but her instinct was to not go any deeper. Instead, she hovered above the group and didn’t continue. The weird feeling persisted.
Soon she decided to call off her dive and slowly ascended back to the dive master waiting at the surface. She told him something was off.
Eric and Nicole run a busy family business and are in the process of opening a coffee shop. Nicole is a former chef and Eric is an avid outdoorsman — climbing, hiking, mountaineering, camping and more.
“Me — not so much,” Nicole said. “I was always in the kitchen and working a lot.”
But when she met Eric, he suggested they go camping. Nicole wasn’t sure about that.
Over time, though, he introduced her to the outdoors, and now they enjoy adventures together. In 2016, they got dive certifications, and Nicole fell in love with the activity.
“It was one of the best things that I’ve ever done,” she said.
Eric got cave and master dive certifications, and they bought a dive boat so they could continue going locally.
Over the past three years, though, their businesses kept them so busy that Eric and Nicole couldn’t even take vacations at the same time. The dive trip to the island of Caye Caulker in Belize was their first trip together in some time.
It was day 6 of the trip, and the dive site was far from shore compared to other days — nearly a 2-hour boat ride. There were 8 people in total on the small boat, including the captain, dive masters and dive assistant. The weather that morning was beautiful, with calm waters and only a few clouds dotting the sky.
The dive company kept an efficient schedule to maximize dive time, instructing everyone to put their gear on prior to arrival at the dive site so they could get right into the water.
When Nicole felt tightness in her chest shortly thereafter, she initially thought it could’ve just been anxiety.
With that in mind, when Nicole surfaced, she told the dive master that she wanted the group to continue their dive. They had only been in the water for 10 minutes.
But once back in the boat, Nicole deteriorated quickly. She felt disoriented and dizzy, and her hand and arm went completely numb.
She wondered if she had inhaled too much oxygen. The captain wondered if she was seasick.
She laid down in the middle of the boat in a dazed state.
When Eric and the rest of the group arrived at the boat about 30 minutes later, he was immediately concerned at the sight of his wife and began a condition check.
“She is 53 years old and in good health, so this was a shock as to me it was the signs of a heart attack,” he said. “I monitored her for a few more minutes before I notified the dive master that we needed to return to shore ASAP.”
At that point he learned that the boat had no form of emergency communication or radio on board. He pulled out his inReach Mini satellite communication device, enclosed in the dive case.
“Funny enough, I was the one who bought it,” Nicole said.
She saw the Garmin inReach device around Christmastime several years ago and thought her husband needed it for all his mountain adventures. He began using the device while on trips to message her and confirm he was safe.
“It always just gave me a sense of security,” she said.
And when Eric realized there was a dive case for the inReach device, he bought that and started taking it on dives.
On one dive Nicole was pulled away by a current on a foggy day, and if they had not made it to her in time, she could’ve become lost in the fog. That solidified Eric’s decision to add the device to his dive kit — in case one of them ever became separated from the boat.
Eric pulled out his inReach device and messaged the dive shop to let them know the situation, and that they were going to need emergency services on standby upon arrival.
Meanwhile, the weather was starting to turn — a storm was rolling in. Their small boat was getting hammered by 4’ swells, crashing water up onto the boat and slowing their progress. Nicole’s condition was worsening.
Eric hit the SOS button and began messaging with the Garmin Response℠ global emergency response coordination center. He also messaged their son back at home, as well as the dive shop to request that they send a larger and faster boat to meet them.
“All along I was able to safely use my inReach without damage from the saltwater,” he said.
He provided their position for the faster boat to meet them and began coordinating transportation because Caye Caulker only has a basic medical clinic and no major hospital.
The bigger boat took Nicole to shore, where a golf cart was waiting to transport her to the medical clinic for an evaluation. They administered medication, and from there, she was transported via airplane to Belize City and then onto an ambulance that rushed her to the hospital — resources that were readily coordinated as a result of the timely SOS trigger.
“The ability to constantly communicate via text to update not only location but her condition and our needs was key,” Eric said.
All along, the dive shop and local citizens rallied resources to help Nicole and Eric.
Still, as she was entering the emergency room nearly 4 hours later, Nicole’s heart rate was dropping to “extremely dangerous levels.” She was indeed having a heart attack and required urgent care.
Nicole ended up staying in the intensive care unit in Belize City for 6 days as they worked to stabilize her heart. Eventually she was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she stayed for another 3 days. Ultimately, there are only theories about what could’ve possibly caused the heart attack — perhaps high blood pressure, perhaps an air embolism. Structurally, her heart was fine.
“I do believe that the device helped save my life,” Nicole said.
Without it, they would’ve had to stay in the small boat and try to get closer to shore and cellphone service to start coordinating emergency services.
“Our inReach was the determining factor to her survival, full stop,” Eric said.
The DeHavens said they want more people — divers, dive professionals and dive shops — to know about using inReach devices with dive cases for diving. A Descent dive computer can even be paired to an inReach device and used for seamless messaging from the surface.
Divers can lose sight of or drift away from their boat, vessel issues and accidents can occur, and medical issues like Nicole’s are always a possibility — making these tools imperative.
“I think in the hiking and travel community the inReach is well known, but I am always the only diver with a unit on our harness when we go out diving,” Eric said. “I think the word needs to get out more that the dive housing exists, and I wonder if our story can help do this.”
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post Deep Trouble: A Heart Attack While Diving appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Adrian Abrahams of ROAM Overlanding, a Garmin ambassador, was very thankful when a couple from the Netherlands graciously allowed his group to utilize their bigger campsite during an overlanding trip in Botswana. A few days later, however, Abrahams was able to return the favor in a big way. He shared the story with Garmin.
Being friendly can sometimes pay off in ways you never anticipated.
Last year, I was on a ROAM Overlanding trip to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. After a week of pushing from campsite to campsite, we arrived at a magical place known as Khwai Magotho Community camp, excited to spend the next 4 days relaxing and enjoying true wilderness.
While looking for the perfect campsite for our group, we stumbled across one that had already been booked by a couple from the Netherlands. We asked if we could swap our smaller campsite for their bigger one, and — thankfully — they were very friendly and accommodating to us. We set up our camp and spent a couple days exploring and watching elephants and hippos playing in the riverfront.
One evening, we cooked dinner on open flames under the stars and fell asleep to the sounds of lions and hyenas calling in the distance, the chuckling of hippos in the pools nearby and occasional gentle snores of nearby resting adventurers in deep slumber.
But suddenly, we were startled by the frantic cries of Louis, one half of the Dutch couple. He had been brought to our camp by a mechanic from a nearby village. It was quite the sight: Their little car was painted in mud, and Louis looked like he had been through a troubling time. He was desperate for us to come help him and his girlfriend, who was back at their 4×4 (which had been door-deep stuck in a river for hours).
The number one rule of being in these wild places is that you don’t go mucking about at night — because there are big, dangerous animals, and the nighttime is their time. But a fellow overlander in need of help was certainly worth it. We switched on all our vehicle spotlights and slowly followed the mechanic to the drowned vehicle.
When we arrived, the situation was worse than we thought. The vehicle’s rear end was taking on water, and the people who came to help our new friends had unfortunately made the situation worse.
Considering we were in a completely wild area, we decided to opt for a fast and effective snatch recovery. These are particularly effective in helping break the suction of a vehicle stuck in mud. We got all the recovery gear together, spaced everyone around safely and hammered the beans out of my vehicle to give it a good tug.
Just like that, the drowned vehicle hopped out of the river, water draining from every orifice. The whole vehicle was soaked. Yet, unbelievably, the engine started. We helped get Louis and his partner back to safety at the campsite, where we could watch their backs in the dark while they got their tent set up.
Most of their food was damaged and clothing was drenched, so the next morning we hosted them and gave them space to dry out their belongings. There was just one big problem: There was no way that this vehicle would be taking them back to town, and none of us had any cellular signal or Wi-Fi®.
Luckily, I always carry an inReach Mini satellite communication device¹ in my vehicle — typically for sharing our location and messaging with loved ones at home. Now it was going to come in handy for reaching the 4×4 rental company that the vehicle belonged to.
We managed to communicate with them via messaging on the inReach device and exchanged all the details we needed to get confirmation that a flatbed truck would be out within the day to collect the Dutch couple and their drowned vehicle.
We continued to host them for that evening, and, in the morning when we went our separate ways, we could tell they were grateful to have stumbled upon us. We have kept in touch since then, and their adventure continued to get crazier from then on, but at least we had gotten them out of the dangerous part. They eventually arrived home to the Netherlands safely.
Sometimes (more often than not) being prepared can end up helping others even more than yourself, and I think there is no better feeling than being able to help when it’s needed.
¹Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
The post Couple Saved: The Power of Kindness and inReach® appeared first on Garmin Blog.
From hikers on daytrips to drivers on road trips, the inReach SOS data from 2023 shows that inReach devices are an important tool for adventurers and commuters alike. In 2023 the largest percentage of SOS incidents came from hikers and backpackers, but the biggest increase resulted from driving-related situations. Read on for a look at the statistical breakdown.
Since 2011, Garmin inReach satellite technology1 has helped individuals stay in touch globally, send and receive messages outside of cellphone service areas, navigate routes, track and share journeys and, when necessary, trigger an interactive SOS message to the Garmin Response℠ emergency response coordination center. Many individuals’ lives have been changed from the help they received after triggering an SOS message on their inReach device.
Where were SOS incidents triggered from?With 100% global Iridium® satellite network coverage, an SOS can be triggered globally. The locations of SOS incidents speak to the power of the Iridium satellite network, the intel of inReach technology and the Garmin Response team’s ability to make timely connections with emergency resources all over the world.
Garmin Response is a leader in 24/7 emergency monitoring and incident response coordination services. Using a proprietary emergency monitoring platform that connects to a global database of first responders and emergency services, the dedicated team of skilled emergency response coordinators serves more than 200 countries and territories and supports more than 210 languages.
Just this year, dispatch responses varied from local police and ambulance services on major interstate highways to highly technical helicopter rescues on the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest. Responses all over the world — from New Zealand to Norway to Argentina to Canada — were coordinated for plane crashes, grizzly bear encounters, sinking sailboats, skiers in avalanches, stranded divers, injured climbers and many more.
What were people doing when they triggered an SOS in 2023?The largest percentage of SOS triggers this year came from adventurers who were out hiking or backpacking. The next highest number of SOS triggers came from driving and motorcycling incidents. This emphasizes the importance of having an inReach on hand for everyday “just in case” situations, such as witnessing or being involved in a motor vehicle accident, experiencing mechanical issues outside of cellphone service or encountering adverse weather while driving.
In 2023, we saw the biggest increases in driving-related SOS incidents, followed by climbing/mountaineering and fishing. Other common activities include boating, snowmobiling, camping, hunting, skiing/snowboarding, off-roading and more.
Why were people triggering an SOS in 2023?The top reason that inReach users triggered an SOS in 2023 was for injuries. An injury can refer to issues such as broken bones, lacerations or blunt force trauma from a fall. Another top reason was medical issues, which can refer to concerns such as altitude sickness, heart problems and gastrointestinal issues, among others.
In 2023, we saw the biggest increases in vehicle accidents and issues. Becoming stranded or stuck, getting lost or reporting a lost individual, experiencing boating accidents or issues, and reporting wildfires were other reasons.
Who were people triggering an SOS for?An inReach SOS can be triggered for anyone. While many SOS incidents were for the actual inReach user, more than half were for the user’s party member or a third-party individual. An SOS can also be triggered to report emergencies, including wildfires or vehicle accidents.
What responses were dispatched for incidents this year?In the event of an emergency, an interactive SOS message can be sent to the Garmin Response Center. The trained staff is available to respond to messages, track devices, and coordinate with emergency services or others to dispatch assistance, giving individuals peace of mind that help is on the way. In 2023, helicopters, ambulances, and search and rescue teams were dispatched most frequently.
With the help of Garmin Response, inReach users were also able to self-rescue nearly 10% of the time in 2023. When self-rescue isn’t possible, Garmin offers search and rescue insurance plans, which can provide financial reimbursement for qualified search and rescue-related expenses.
Learn more: Triggering an SOS on an inReach Device
Thank You to the RespondersBehind these SOS incidents and rescues are dedicated emergency responders giving their time and energy to helping others. As we look back on another year, we give our thanks to all the responders involved in the rescue process, who are there for many inReach users in the most vulnerable times.
Here’s to safe and happy adventures in 2024.
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
OpenStreetMap is a trademark of OpenStreetMap Foundation, and is used with their permission. This product is not endorsed by or affiliated with the OpenStreetMap Foundation.
The post 2023 Garmin inReach® SOS Year in Review appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Before his friend headed out on a backcountry ski tour one day, James Birch gave him his inReach® device1 — just in case. That day, three separate avalanches occurred in and around the slopes they were skiing. Birch’s friend and his party members were caught in a slide approximately 600–800 meters wide and running 200–300 meters long. Birch got the call that an SOS had been triggered on his device. He shared with Garmin what happened that day.
I first purchased my GPSMAP® 66i and subscribed to the inReach service years ago because I dirt bike in the summer and backcountry snow bike in the winter. I take my device with me every time I go out, and I have said that if I ever had to use it one time, it was worth every penny.
One day, I was having breakfast with my housemate and great friend, and he told me he was going out backcountry ski touring with friends that day. I was going to work, so I suggested he take my inReach device with him. He initially declined because his friend would have an inReach Mini with him, but I eventually convinced him, and we parted ways. I expected to see him again that night and listen to stories about what a great time he had.
But soon after midday, I received a phone call from Texas, U.S. Initially I was going to decline it, but I decided to answer. It was the Garmin Response℠ team informing me that the SOS button on my device had been activated. Obviously, it was not me but my friend — who, as it turns out, had been involved in an enormous avalanche.
After giving as much detail as I could regarding my friend’s plans for that day, I logged in to my Garmin Explore account on my work computer. I could see the messages between my seriously injured friend, the Garmin Response staff and the responding search and rescue teams. I’m still in absolute awe of the scale of operation behind the scenes. Helicopters, avalanche dogs and a long-line rescue team were deployed to the scene, and my friend was ultimately transported to a hospital.
In the following days and after a lot of coordination between all of the teams involved, I finally got to see my friend again. He spent several weeks in the hospital with severe damage to both legs. Months down the line, after physical rehabilitation every single day, he began walking again. Six months later, he was on a mountain bike, and almost a year later, we both went for his first snowmobile ride since the accident.
I cannot say thanks enough to every single person involved in this entire process. Without the enormous efforts put in by absolutely everyone, I would not be having breakfast again with my friend tomorrow morning. For this, I sincerely thank you.
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post Friend Convinced to Take inReach on Day of Avalanche Disaster appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Roughly one in every five inReach® SOS triggers is a customer helping a third-party individual. Parker Clark experienced that firsthand after using his inReach device to coordinate rescues for two complete strangers in the span of just 7 months. He shared the stories with Garmin.
Parker Clark has explored mountains all over the world. But he feels most at home in the Sierra Nevada mountains — a range he’s spent more than 11 years backpacking, climbing and skiing.
He first purchased an inReach satellite communication device1 because he does a lot of those activities solo and felt it was a critical piece of gear for his own safety. What he didn’t initially realize, however, was how it would end up being a critical piece of gear for the well-being of complete strangers.
In the span of 7 months in those mountains, Clark ended up using his inReach device’s SOS function to help coordinate helicopter extractions for not one, but two, individuals.
The First Rescue: An Injured Hiker
“A few friends and I were on the last day of a backpacking trip and were filtering water at a small off-trail lake when an older man came by, asked us a few questions and then continued on his trek. About 15 minutes later, as we were about to leave, I heard screaming in the distance and ran up a scree slope to find the same man screaming in agony, saying he had broken his arm.
After assessing the injury, I got my inReach and hit the SOS button, using the Earthmate® app to send a descriptive message of the issue. With a broken arm, he would be unable to make it back to the trailhead given it was over class 2 and 3 boulders and scree.
My friends and I were able to move the man off the slope to a flatter area where he could rest against a boulder. He only had day hiking gear and was unprepared to spend the night out there at 12,000’.
We decided that my three friends would head out to the trailhead so that they could start driving home because they expected to be slower and had a long drive. I talked with the guy for a long time — it seemed he had been in the Sierras for many decades but had a surgical procedure in the last 6 months and overestimated his abilities coming back from that.
After a couple hours of back-and-forth inReach messaging with the responding search and rescue (SAR) team, they opted to send a helicopter because he would be unable to make it out himself. It took about 5 hours from the initial SOS for it to arrive. They landed it at 12,000’, loaded him up and took off.
Without the inReach device, someone would have had to hike out (which would have taken hours), find cellphone service or track down a ranger, and probably send someone to go back in with overnight gear for him. I don’t know if he would have made it the night without warm clothing and shelter.
After the helicopter left, I ran back to the trailhead as it was nearing sunset.”
The Second Rescue: A Near-fatal Fall
“I was attempting to ski Basin Mountain and had just ascended a steep snow couloir most of the way up the mountain when I heard metal clanging on rock and turned my head. I watched a body a few hundred feet away cartwheel hundreds of feet over cliffs, snow and ice down onto the snow slope below. Then there was no motion, and I knew I needed to go back down and start a rescue.
Unfortunately, what I had just climbed up was at the limit of my abilities, and I didn’t intend to go down it until later in the day when the snow was softer. I had to take a few minutes to calm myself to be able to downclimb what I had just come up.
I did make it down and moved quickly toward the body — expecting to find that he was not alive given what I had seen of the fall.
When I got to him, he was breathing with effort but unconscious. There were several other injuries, and his helmet was caved in on one section. I initiated the inReach SOS.
He was still on a pretty steep snow slope and would periodically move a bit and slide down. He was also face down and in a bad orientation, so I used my trekking poles and ice axe embedded in the snow to gradually leverage his body into a better position and prevent him from sliding.
He was part of a group and eventually someone came down from a mile away and I was able to shout at them to come over. I ended up staying with the hurt individual for 3 hours until the helicopter arrived. Luckily, they had been doing SAR training nearby.
They dropped an emergency responder with a flexible stretcher, we cut a ledge in the slope to get him into it, and then the helicopter came back and picked him up to be dropped off at a local transport point. After he was dropped off, they life-flighted him to a hospital in California.
Two-way satellite messaging using the inReach was quite efficient. There was back-and-forth messaging about the injuries and rescue information provided for the helicopter like height, weight, etc. Eventually, the Garmin ResponseSM team member connected me directly to the SAR responder, and after that it was very efficient communicating directly with the responding agency. There were no satellite signal or connection issues.
I later learned that the individual woke up approximately 10 days after arriving at the hospital. A few months later he was walking around, and while he still had some cognitive issues, he has actually been doing OK. If he hadn’t gotten a rapid helicopter evacuation, he likely wouldn’t have survived.”
The Aftermath
Those two rescue coordination experiences, of course, had an effect on Clark. He’s spent time thinking about humbleness in the wilderness and “how quickly the mountains will teach you that the environment is truly in control rather than any individual.”
He personally prioritizes honing his skills, assessing risk even when traveling in groups and keeping overconfidence in check in order to mitigate major accidents in the mountains. And he’s now aware of the wide variety of scenarios an inReach can be useful for.
“Witnessing a traumatic accident is stressful enough even when you have an inReach to immediately contact SAR and coordinate a rescue,” Clark said. “I cannot imagine how stressful it would have been to have had to leave someone severely injured and hike or ski out for hours, try to find cell reception, and then try to communicate the location and potentially go back in hours later not knowing what had transpired in the meantime. The more inReach devices that are in the backcountry, the safer it will be for everyone.”
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post One Year, One inReach User, Two Lives Saved appeared first on Garmin Blog.
California’s Mount Baldy, with its close proximity to Los Angeles, is a very popular hiking destination. But standing more than 10,000’ tall with steep, variable terrain, high winds, and lingering snow and ice in the winter months, the mountain can also be immensely dangerous. Jessica Friedman and her party were halfway up when her friend experienced that danger. She shared with Garmin what ensued that day.
Two friends and I started out at Icehouse Canyon and made great time past Timber Mountain — over 4,000’ of vertical climbing — in an effort to loop the “Three T’s” on Mount Baldy.
As avid hikers, we felt confident in our ability to navigate rocks, snow and ice by utilizing our poles, spikes and ice axes. It was cold and windy, but our steady pace kept us warm.
This awesome hike took a turn for the worse quickly after hitting the Timber Saddle up towards Telegraph. There was a lot of ice on the trail throughout the hike. We approached a section that was icier than the previous areas but was not daunting. We had the trail map and were already halfway done with the hike at this point.
My friend was in front and went to cross the ice first. His foot went out from under him and he did a slow slide and hit a tree, which spun him around backward. That is when he started gaining speed down the mountain.
He fell well over 10 stories — his body slamming into everything imaginable, including trees and boulders. A rockslide was also triggered, which followed him down into a gorge. It was a traumatic sight to behold. The sheriff later confirmed that it is not a fall people usually come back from. In fact, after our experience, several hikers have unfortunately met their end this season in that exact area.
We called out to my friend several times, which was met with silence. I thought for sure he must have broken every bone in his body and was not going to make it.
My other friend jumped into action, grabbing his ice axe and climbing down to start a search. Shockingly, he found that our friend was able to move. Together, they even climbed back up to the trail.
Our friend had lost everything in the fall, including his pack, spikes, axe, inReach device and extra clothing. Plus, he was in a lot of pain and shock, and was wet and cold. His clothes were torn and he was badly scraped. We provided aid to him along with food and water.
Together we agreed to try to get off the mountain as quickly as possible. We carved a path in the ice and were forced to cross the same section where he fell.
After a few switchbacks, it quickly became obvious that our friend was struggling to walk and may have internal injuries. I reached for my inReach® satellite communication device1 and pressed the SOS button.
The Garmin Response℠ team was incredible and communicative. They organized the dispatch of a tactical rescue helicopter, which was overhead within 30 minutes. The Garmin Response team stayed in communication, giving us updates. They called my parents and brother immediately, as they are my emergency contacts, to let them know what was happening on the mountain every 30 to 40 minutes.
Eventually, an additional helicopter arrived and circled for an hour before leaving. The other helicopter followed suit and we watched them fade into the distance. When they ultimately flew away, there was an eerie silence. The only communication was on my inReach Mini, which kept me feeling safe and hopeful.
As time went on, the weather was noticeably changing. A storm was brewing over our heads and the white, wispy clouds turned dark. The temperature dropped quickly and the winds picked up. We were told that due to the storm, the helicopters would not attempt to land. At that point, we were starting to feel the effects of the weather — numb fingers and toes. I began to panic contemplating our limited options: hike out slowly in the dark, or wait hours for ground crews.
However, Garmin Response was in contact with us the entire time and they told us to stay put. As the fourth hour of waiting approached, I got a ping on my inReach device. It was a personal message from the sheriff that the tactical pilot and his team were coming back to get us in a larger helicopter with a hoist.
They arrived quickly and sent down a hoist rider, who rappelled down from the helicopter to clip us in one by one. They hovered over Mount Baldy as the sunset waned. The incredible team of officers hoisted us into the chopper, strapped us in and gave us reassurance that we were okay. I cried the whole flight back to safety because we were all safe and my friend survived.
I am thankful to all the men and women who rescued us — the helicopter teams and SAR ground support from San Bernardino County. I am forever indebted to them all. And I am particularly thankful that we were hiking with two Garmin inReach devices that day.
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post A Friend’s Rescue: Surviving a Fall Down Mount Baldy appeared first on Garmin Blog.
One fateful day, Bonnie Larson received a call from the Garmin Response℠ team that her husband had taken a severe fall, and her 16-year-old son had triggered an SOS on their inReach® satellite communication device1. She shared with Garmin what ensued that day. My husband Eric and son Henry were on a backpacking trip into […]
The post 16-year-old Coordinates Rescue for Dad After Fall appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Whether you’re at home or deep in the backcountry, weather can be unpredictable and take even the most prepared individuals by surprise. Read on to see how these customers used their inReach® satellite communication devices1 for help during dangerous weather events.
Hurricane
“I live in Louisiana, on the coast that was devastated by the category 4 Hurricane Ida. My hometown was far enough from the storm to only sustain minimum damage, but 15 miles east was without power, fuel and cellphone service. When I left every morning to drive east for the cleanup effort, my inReach device kept me in contact all day with family back home and helped me coordinate generator, fuel, and food and water drop-offs. I texted all day and came home after a 14-hour day with around 83% battery left. When every form of communication was down, inReach delivered.”
Robert Franklin
Flood
“2021 was a year of climate catastrophes for me. I live in the southern interior of British Columbia. In July and August, several huge wildfires surrounded our home for weeks on end. At one point, the fiber cable that provides both landline and cellular service into our area was severely damaged by fire. Fortunately, I was able to send text messages to friends and family using my inReach device.
Those fires were followed in November by a catastrophic flood of the Nicola River, which destroyed the highway and washed away close to 90 utility poles. All of a sudden, we had no power and no communications. Houses were washed away, and a life was lost. Fortunately, I was once again able to contact the outside world thanks to my inReach device and let those near and dear to me know that I was OK. Without my device, they would have spent several days worrying about my and my wife’s well-being as they watched the news of the event unfold.
I bought my inReach a couple of years ago to use during summer hiking trips. Initially I just had a month-by-month subscription, but I very quickly realized how valuable this little gadget could be in our remote area and switched to an annual subscription. I will always keep it close by.”
Jim Ryan
Forest Fire
“My son and I were on a 4-day, self-supported rafting trip down the wild and scenic section of Oregon’s Rogue River in mid-August, which is completely without cell service. We started with perfect weather but awoke on day 2 to a very smoky sky and heavy smoke in the canyon. I had no idea where the fire was and was concerned it was downriver. But I had my inReach device, so I messaged my wife back home and had her look it up. She replied 15 minutes later with the details — it was behind us and headed away. That was a big relief. The rest of the trip was amazing!”
Matt Hickman
Heat Wave
“I headed out on Section J of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) during a heat wave and thought I would manage fine up in the mountains. I am an avid cyclist, trail runner and hiker and have experience in multiday adventures. However, there was no relief from the heat this time.
By day 3, I realized I needed to bail on the hike. I pulled out my inReach Mini and texted my daughter. We figured out a good bail-out point, and I set the pickup time at a common trailhead off the PCT for 5:30 p.m. that evening. Hiking out that day I became ill and got the chills.
I am not sure how this adventure would have ended had I not been able to communicate. At 59 years old and someone who considers themselves in really good shape, this challenged me beyond (almost) my mental and physical limits.
The inReach device provided me with a lifeline and the ability to get help when I definitely needed it. Heat exhaustion is no joke. Being able to text family in my time of need was just what I needed. I am a customer for life and am telling all my friends who play in the backcountry to not leave home without it if they are out of cellphone range.”
Randy Krause
Rainstorm
“I was hiking in the High Peaks Wilderness through some of the majestic Adirondack Mountains. It was forecasted to be 75 degrees, bluebird skies and perfect hiking conditions through Monday.
On Saturday evening, while cowboy camping, I had to put my tarp up because it started to rain. Then the rain thickened. Sunday was a nearly zero visibility day with high winds and lots of precipitation, and it only built through Monday. I kept my phone in my raincoat pocket, but it still perished.
The Adirondacks are a labyrinth of trails, junctions, blazes — it is a maze. However, I was able to use my inReach Mini to message my sister in Colorado, and she was able to look at my location and send me directions to get to a main road.
Rather than risking getting lost, or having to backtrack 30 miles, I was able to hike 5.4 miles out to safety. What a cherished gift to be able to text the outside world in a nonemergency situation. I appreciate your service and will recommend it to friends, family and fellow hikers.”
Kirsty Frederick
¹Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post 5 Real-life inReach Experiences: Extreme Weather appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Shane Horton’s family was 45 miles from the nearest town in rural Alaska when their airboat collided with a log, sending them crashing into the shore. He shared with Garmin how they saved their daughter, who sustained serious injuries in the crash, that day.
My wife, grown daughter and I were making a trip upriver to our camp. My daughter was driving my airboat to get some practice because she and her husband had just bought one of their own.
She was driving well, the weather was great, and we were all enjoying the trip.
Eventually, though, she got a little too close to the riverbank. Not being super comfortable using a rudder stick instead of a steering wheel, she accidentally steered the wrong way.
When the boat didn’t respond as anticipated, she tried to correct it but ended up steering the boat into the side of a long log laying just under the water surface. The boat slid along the log and crashed hard into the shore where there was a large cottonwood tree lying horizontally about 4’ above the water.
My wife and the dogs were seated low, so they weren’t hit by the tree. I dove to the deck and just cleared it. It was my daughter, who was in the high seat, who took the full impact of the airboat hitting the tree.
My wife got out, the dogs got out, but our daughter was pinned. When the boat began to sink, I was able to get the engine shut down and get her out of the seat and onto the front deck. Then, with a lot of struggling through the mud, we got her up the 8’ bank and onto dry ground. We assessed her injuries and performed what first aid we could.
Then we remembered the inReach® satellite communication device¹ that we have carried for years, so I went back into the boat and felt around under the water until I found it. The darn thing still powered up and still worked!
We were 30 miles of paved road, 10 miles of dirt road and 5 miles of river from the nearest town, so I hit the SOS button and also sent out distress messages to friends and family.
After messaging about the incident with Garmin Response℠ staff, we got a direct response from the Alaska troopers that they were on the way. We were able to further communicate that we needed two boats and a stretcher to get her out.
Within two hours of the accident, we had an ambulance at the boat launch and two boats with people and gear to help.
My daughter had a shattered kneecap, numerous broken ribs, a ruptured lung, and her pelvis was broken in two places.
We have carried the inReach device for years and have used it to communicate, and I have used the tracking function to let people know where I am when I fly or snowmobile. This is the first time we have needed it in an emergency, and it did its job! The Garmin Response staff was exemplary, keeping in touch and passing along information as soon as it became available.
My daughter is at home now and recovering. Without the inReach, she would have had to lie on the wet riverbank for many hours while I tried to walk and swim my way to get help.
We will keep the inReach device with us whenever we are outdoors, and I very highly recommend it to everyone else.
¹Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post Father Recovers inReach From Sinking Boat to Help Save Daughter appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Despite being prepared and experienced, Andreas Stabno found himself in a situation he never thought he would — trapped on a precarious mountain ledge with nothing to do but hang on and wait. He shared with Garmin what happened that day.
Andreas Stabno has run marathons, crossed the Grand Canyon and returned in one day, rappelled into and waded through Utah canyons, scaled Mount Kilimanjaro with his father and summitted 55 of Colorado’s highest peaks — among other adventures.
He’s a husband, a father, an active member of his community, and in his career has led risk management and guided complex teams.
“I’m the typical man who doesn’t ask for directions, doesn’t need help and takes care of himself,” he said.
So when Stabno was persuaded by his wife to buy an inReach® satellite communication device¹, he thought it was silly to pay money for something he thought he would never need.
But on one fateful summer day, he did.
“Without it, I would not be telling this story today,” he said.
1:00 a.m.
Stabno is prepared. Other than the clothes and boots he’s wearing, he has a spare pair of socks, gloves, a helmet, baseball cap, neck buff, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, fuel and food, 3 liters of water, a map, compass, phone for navigation and a backup battery, a knife, matches, pencil and paper, first aid kit, reflective space blanket, driver’s license, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and a pair of hiking poles.
He thinks about every detail, including exactly how he double layers his socks to avoid any creases that may cause blisters. Checking his phone, he sees that the weather forecast is about to be updated, so opts to wait until 1:30 a.m. for one last confirmation that it still looks like a bluebird day for the hours he intends to be in the mountains. It does.
2:20 a.m.
It’s the middle of August and already 52°F. Ready for an epic day, Stabno hikes at an aggressive pace, heating up quickly under the light of the moon. He thinks about his love for this activity, this place. His objective for the day is traversing the ridgeline above Glacier Gorge, ending by summiting McHenrys Peak. It’s one of his favorite areas in Rocky Mountain National Park.
10:00 a.m.
Stabno has already hit five summits: Flattop, Hallet, Otis, Taylor (13,100’ elevation) and Powell. The sky is clear, the wind is calm, and he only has one more peak on his route before the return through Glacier Gorge to the car. He puts on his helmet to prepare for a very loose gully descent and then a technical, rocky ascent.
He studies the near-vertical wall below McHenrys’ notch and spots a line weaving through the terrain that he deems — from his research and observations — to be acceptable. The rock looks solid, and the climb is supposed to be within his ability level.
But once he’s about 100’ up he starts to get uncomfortable. All options appear harder than he expected, but a bypass to the right seems feasible. He takes it.
11:00 a.m.
Stabno arrives at a small ledge. Unable to advance through the wide cracks safely in either direction from there, he tries to find places to put his hands and pull himself up, but has nowhere to put his feet. Any movement would require advanced climbing technique and gear. Quickly Stabno realizes he’s 100-150’ above ground with nowhere to go without serious risk.
11:10 a.m., 10 Minutes on the Ledge
“In that moment, I knew that moving would get me in serious trouble and help would take time to arrive because I am in one of the most remote areas of the park — about 8 miles from any road and trailhead,” he said. “So, I don’t hesitate.”
Stabno grasps his inReach device and pushes the SOS button.
He also uses the two-way texting on his device to message his wife and explain the situation, leaving out some of the more harrowing details.
And now all he can do is wait — on a ledge that he describes as having about 3’ of usable space in length, being only 8” wide, sloping downward to one side, and only reasonably secure when grasping an under-cling pinch in the wall with his left hand and a small, rounded rock feature with his right. One of his heels is slightly hanging over the ledge.
1:00 p.m., 2 Hours on the Ledge
Responders determine that Stabno’s location will be a difficult, technical rescue. While waiting, he’s received more information about the rescue response. Help is on the way, but it will likely take hours to safely get to his location.
Stabno’s fear mounts.
“By carefully taking off my backpack and pressing it between me and the wall, I manage to remove my battery backup and place it in one pants pocket while connecting it to my phone in the other pocket,” he said. “I am already wearing a windbreaker over my shirt, but I know I can get cold fast because I am no longer moving, so I extract my space blanket from my emergency kit, unfold it and wrap it around my torso under my shirt. This is challenging as I am holding on to the rock with one hand at a time.”
Then, he has nothing left to do but stand and wait, drink water and shift the weight on his feet every so often.
1:30 p.m., 2.5 Hours on the Ledge
Stabno is tired and cold and begins to break down mentally and emotionally. His kids are sending him messages, pleading with him to hold on.
2:00 p.m., 3 Hours on the Ledge
He sees dark clouds forming in the distance and hears a subtle rumble of thunder. Spots of rain dribble down his jacket, quickly turning into hail that bounces off his helmet. Before long, his clothes are soaked, and the ledge is slick with moisture.
4:00 p.m., 5 Hours on the Ledge
Stabno is cold and shaking uncontrollably. He informs the responding rangers that he’s growing desperate. They assure him a helicopter is on the way and a search and rescue (SAR) team is still making their way in.
“I am lonely with too much time in my head, and I can only focus on the pressing tasks of the present,” Stabno said. “But every few minutes I am interrupted with a message of support or a check-in from the park service or my family and friends.”
4:30 p.m., 5.5 Hours on the Ledge
Stabno hears what he describes as, at the time, a beautiful sound: the dim noise of helicopter rotors spinning in the distance. As it approaches, the sound becomes a deafening roar, but then it trails away and quiet takes over.
When it returns, Stabno waves his arm as much as he can while still clinging to the wall.
It makes several passes, unable to find a safe position for both Stabno and the rescuers, and it eventually flies away again.
5:00 p.m., 6 Hours on the Ledge
Out of nowhere, Stabno hears a voice from above calling his name and confirming his location. The rescuers that hiked in have made it and are preparing to climb to Stabno. The voice says they’ll be down to him in 10 minutes.
5:30 p.m., 6.5 Hours on the Ledge
The rescuer rappels down and puts a harness on Stabno, securing him into the rope system. They use jumars to climb pitch-by-pitch up the rock wall.
6:10 p.m., Off the Ledge
Stabno finally has made it to level terrain, and the rescue team informs him the helicopter will be coming back to take them up. He’s put into a new harness, clipped into the carabiner of the hoist and shortly is flying up through the air and into the safety of the National Guard helicopter.
“Because of the noise, I cannot communicate other than through the gratitude of my flowing tears, and I gain a renewed appreciation for the professionalism and sacrifice of those who give their lives in service to others,” Stabno said.
A few minutes later, they land near park headquarters, and Stabno exits the cabin. At the office, he’s medically assessed and debriefed by rangers about the day, especially regarding how he prepared and the decisions he made that led to getting stuck.
And finally, Stabno hears the sound he’s been waiting for. His family has arrived.
After the Rescue
Today, Stabno said that he is feeling “alive and deeply grateful.”
“The heroes are the two mountaineers from Rocky Mountain Rescue, the helicopter team from the National Guard and the entire National Park Service command center,” he said. “With military precision and a measured calm, their actions saved my life.”
He said his rescue was only executed in time because he was able to send the inReach SOS immediately.
“I am uncertain how much longer I would have been able to hang on or how the weather conditions would have changed had my rescuers arrived even just a half hour later,” he said.
Stabno also recognized the heroics of his wife back at home, who communicated with emergency services, organized their community and checked on him constantly throughout the day. He said the messages and good energy he was able to receive from his community were what gave him the strength to hold on just long enough.
And while the main feeling following the ordeal was gratefulness, Stabno did have a few other simple takeaways:
“Know your ability,” he said. “Do your research. Stay humble. Be prepared to turn back. Have a reason to come back home.”
¹Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It’s the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post Story of Survival: Mountaineer Trapped on a Ledge for 6 Hours appeared first on Garmin Blog.
When Idaho State Highway 21 was closed by an avalanche, Mark and Kim Nero were stranded. With no source of communication, it’s unknown how long it would’ve been before someone came to help. Fortunately, they were prepared, and shared the story of how they got out with Garmin.
Since retiring, Mark and Kim Nero have enjoyed the outdoors year-round — camping, fly-fishing, hiking, off-roading, dune riding and more.
That’s why they initially bought their Montana® 700i device, a rugged GPS touchscreen navigator with inReach® technology¹.
“We are aware of the various dangers of the activities we are involved in and try to be prepared for the most unexpected events,” Mark said. “This adventure was no different.”
They left on a Tuesday from the trailhead parking lot to snowshoe into a backcountry yurt and stay for 2 nights. Their snow-loving Blue Heeler dogs, Ehko and Ivy, were with them.
The trek into the yurt went smoothly. They arrived early in the afternoon with plenty of time to do some exploring. But that night it began snowing — and it didn’t stop.
Still, they departed as scheduled on Thursday, but this time in deep, unpacked snow.
“The first mile out was a challenge,” Mark said. “The packed trail we came in on was mostly gone due to 2’ to 3’ snowdrifts. We had to work extremely hard to forge across the ridge.”
Even though it was mostly downhill, it took Mark and Kim nearly 3 hours to break trail and get back to their car. When they arrived, however, they realized that the tedious trek out was going to be the least of their problems.
The road out was not plowed and had roughly 19” of wet snow.
Fortunately, they were prepared with shovels. It took them an hour to dig out their Subaru Outback and make a path to the road, at which point the question was, could they even drive on the road?
They weren’t sure, but knew they at least needed to try, and they had a car equipped to handle the conditions.
“To my surprise, the all-wheel drive of our car was amazing,” Mark said.
Despite low visibility, they made it down the hill 6 miles until they came to an abrupt stop as snow collapsed in on the car. A sizable avalanche had slid across the road.
Mark yelled out in surprise and rolled down the windows to find snow up to the sides of the doors.
“After another 40 minutes of wrestling with the snow, we dug out enough to back up,” Mark said. “The car was high and centered on the snow, so we had to dig out below as well. I backed out roughly 100 yards to a somewhat level and wide spot, expecting to stay there, but not sure for how long.”
In a worst-case scenario, they were prepared to stay overnight with enough water, food, blankets and gas to keep the car warm. But it certainly wasn’t ideal, and there was no determining when they would be able to get out.
Though outside of any cellphone coverage, they weren’t completely cut off from the world. Mark was able to send an inReach satellite message to his son: “Need help. Avalanche across the road at around mile 54–56. No tow truck will work. Need a plow. Beg them and get time.”
He tried to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. After some additional communication and discussion of options by using two-way messaging on their device, the Neros received good news: The Idaho Transportation Department was sending a loader up to help dig them out.
Late in the afternoon, the loader crested the hill, headlights beaming.
“It was a beautiful sight for sure,” Mark said. “Those moments when your body shifts from adrenaline mode to relief are a true high. Of course, a high I could do without.”
Mark climbed up on the loader to meet the person who came to save them and was greeted with a smile and extra water.
“It was like Hollywood movies, with a great ending,” Mark said.
Though Mark and Kim felt thankful and blessed that they had their Hollywood movie ending, they acknowledged that in large part it was due to preparedness. They had everything they needed, had communicated the itinerary and who to contact in case of emergency to their son, had backup plans in place and had a reliable means of communication for the location.
“A Garmin GPS with inReach is an ideal and affordable solution,” Mark said. “In some cases, it will likely save your life — or someone else’s.”
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post How They Got Out: Couple Stranded by an Avalanche While Driving appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Brian Bone has been an inReach® device user for 8 years. He shared with Garmin what prompted him to buy his device all those years ago — and the day he was especially glad he had it.
I was originally inspired to buy my inReach satellite communicator device¹ after nearly being stranded in a fast-moving incoming winter storm on a backcountry skiing daytrip beyond cellphone range. It was a day that began great (as they always do) but went south on the descent when we bottomed out in a willow marsh that had been fully buried by snow. I found myself chest-deep and standing in water as the wind chill dropped.
After a soul-sapping slog, we finally made it back to the cars, well after dark and more than 4 hours overdue. One friend’s wife had been beside herself as he missed a group dinner; when he finally called, she had already been on the phone with search and rescue, which was getting ready to launch a helicopter into the storm to search for us.
Had we had an inReach that day, we could have let our families know that we were fine and just running behind. Luckily, we got in touch just in time to prevent the helicopter from launching into dangerous conditions. We bought inReach devices shortly thereafter.
Then the SOS event occurred.
I was a volunteer leader for a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wildland maintenance in partnership with our nation’s land management agencies. As a result, I maintained a Wilderness First Aid certification and one summer was a volunteer leader on a weeklong trip in Colorado’s Never Summer Wilderness. Our mission that week was illegal campsite closure and area rehabilitation around a high-altitude (11,000’) alpine lake.
One of our volunteers, a young man in his early 20s who was a strong college-level athlete, came from sea level just a day before. Our meeting place the day before our hike in was approximately 8,300’ in elevation. The individual had a fitful night’s rest but seemed energized and ready on the day of our 5-mile hike to our camping and work site on Sunday. The hike took us from around 10,200’ up to almost 12,000’ before descending to the lake at around 11,000’. My coleader and I polled our group prior, during and after the hike, and all the volunteers seemed to be in great spirits and feeling well (if winded). Many were “flatlanders,” but all had spent at least some time hiking at elevation, if not extended overnight trips.
Monday — our first work trip — dawned cool and clear, and we set to work digging up and replanting large rocks, felling dead trees, planting stumps and filling the campsite with natural detritus. The young man worked hard, almost as if in a training workout. I advised him to slow down, take it easy and make sure he was taking in water, electrolytes and calories periodically. He followed our advice but still worked hard. We stopped early that day, and everyone retired to their tents for a couple hours of rest prior to dinner.
During dinner, the individual was quiet, but he ate like a starved bear and joined in a little after-dinner conversation. But around 7 p.m. he stepped away and, shortly after, one of the volunteers reported that he had vomited his dinner, was feeling tired and had a headache. With an hour of daylight left, we made the decision to let him rest and observe him overnight, pushing fluids and small snacks of trail mix if he could keep it down. With my inReach satellite communicator, I messaged our nonprofit’s volunteer coordinator to apprise him of the situation and that we would make the decision whether to hike him out via a longer but continuously descending route the next morning, based on his condition.
By 9 p.m. it was clear he was degrading rapidly, with a dry, hacking cough and feeling restless and uncomfortable lying down — classic signs of High-altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). By 10 p.m. he had developed a crackling, wheezing chest sound, almost like a broken harmonica. Hiking out was now impossible, even if it wasn’t in heavy forest under a full moon in a tracked mountain lion’s territory.
I messaged my coordinator to let him know I was initiating a rescue and then activated the SOS on my inReach device. The Garmin Response℠ center coordinated a response with rescue agencies, who initially wanted to hike in and carry the individual out. However, after we provided subjective, objective, assessment and plan reports on the individual’s condition, they wisely abandoned that course of action and arranged for a helicopter evacuation at first light.
We stayed with the individual overnight, taking turns monitoring his vitals. His pulse was weak, fast and irregular; his breathing was irregular and shallow; he had a crackling chest and hacking cough; he was pale, clammy and had minor cyanosis at the base of his gums and fingernails that didn’t progress.
When the helicopter arrived at about 7:15 a.m., they expertly landed in a small clearing within the cirque we were camped in. The EMTs took his vitals and his Sp02 — the latter registering just 54% (normal range is 95% to 100%). They put him on a continuous positive airway pressure machine and supplemental oxygen on his flight out. Still, he gave a thumbs up on the way up, and I’m told he walked off the helicopter into the emergency room, though he ended up spending nearly a week in the hospital recovering. Fluid had built up in both lungs.
The rapid onset of HAPE this young man experienced is rare at this elevation. In another incident where I had participated in a similar rescue — at that time without an inReach — the mountain rescue team told me they most frequently see HAPE develop 72 hours after arrival at elevation and usually 36 to 48 hours after acute mountain sickness symptoms (such as headache, nausea) disappear. This usually prompts the victim to push on, feeling better, and end up deeper in the wilderness farther from easy rescue. The incident had unfolded exactly in that manner and was the experience that had shaped my initial response to our volunteer’s condition.
Thankfully, that day my inReach device was at hand. Now I never leave cellphone range without it.
1Active satellite subscription required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post Helping to Save a Life: Rapid Onset of High-altitude Pulmonary Edema appeared first on Garmin Blog.
In October 2022, we announced that more than 10,000 individuals had received help after triggering SOS distress signals on their inReach® devices. So what was the actual 10,000th inReach SOS incident?
Three separate inReach SOS triggers came into the Garmin Response℠ Center moments apart, all reporting a dirt bike crash and a severe leg injury.
The injured individual was Kyle McKillop, a 33-year-old inReach subscriber who is no stranger to the outdoors. He regularly camps, mountain bikes, snowboards and dirt bikes in the Pacific Northwest. Originally, he purchased a Garmin inReach satellite communication device to have while on solo trips in the backcountry.
“I figured it would be a good idea to get one after an incident with a mechanical breakdown that caused me to be extremely late getting home,” he said. “It’s been a great way to keep my wife informed if anything happens while I’m gone.”
On that day in fall 2022, though, McKillop was with five other friends. They planned to do a 60- to 70-mile loop ride in an area and on trails they were familiar with.
More than 20 miles into the ride, the group was rounding a sharp, steep and rooted switchback that McKillop had done on previous rides without any issues. To gain momentum, he began accelerating to get to the top of the switchback. It was then that what he calls “the incident” occurred.
As the grade of the hill increased, McKillop lost his balance and started to fall. Not wanting his bike to tumble off the switchback, McKillop attempted to jump off the back of the bike and push it into the hill. He jumped, landed on his feet and spun around to avoid falling down the switchback. The maneuver was successful, and he kept his bike from going over the hill.
But as he twisted, he realized his foot was not twisting with the rest of his body. It was caught in some roots and thus anchored to the ground.
“When I looked down, my foot was pointed completely backward,” he said. “I remained standing but couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It made me sick to my stomach looking at it.”
He released his foot from the roots and hopped on one foot over to a spot on the trail where he could lie down. When he looked at his friends, they were looking back at him — in shock.
“I knew we had several inReach devices among our group members, and I knew it was going to require a helicopter to get me out,” he said. “We were over 10 miles to the nearest forest road, with significant terrain features that prevented anyone from being able to ride me out.”
In a matter of moments, Garmin Response, the 24/7 staffed global emergency response coordination center, let McKillop and the other inReach users know that emergency services were being contacted and dispatched. They informed the group that the rescue team would not have a transport basket and they would need to find a spot for the helicopter to land. Otherwise, it would’ve taken 8 hours for a rescue team to reach the group on foot.
Meanwhile, McKillop was in agony. His friends worked quickly to figure out how to get him to a pickup spot for the helicopter. They created a stretcher with branches and paracord, got him loaded onto it and carried him to a ridgeline.
When the helicopter arrived, the landing area was deemed not flat enough. The EMTs jumped out to check on McKillop while his friends looked for other spots to land. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything better nearby, so everyone began stacking rocks up on a ridgeline to create a landing area for the helicopter.
“The pilot and the EMTs were flawless, but they said it was one of the sketchier rescues they have ever done,” McKillop said.
After a 45-minute flight and another 45-minute ambulance ride, he made it to the hospital. He had a broken tibia and fibula and a dislocated ankle — an incredibly painful injury to endure. Still, McKillop made it home by nightfall.
“The time of the incident was 11:30 a.m., and I made it home around 9:30 p.m.,” McKillop said. “I am so impressed with how quickly the inReach system worked and got a rescue team to me.”
McKillop said that having the inReach provided him with comfort through the whole ordeal.
“I would 100% recommend everyone that goes into remote places to have an inReach,” he said. “Knowing that we had a rescue team responding and they had my exact GPS location ultimately helped me stay calm.”
Learn More About the 10,000 inReach SOS Incidents
NOTICE: To access the Iridium satellite network for live tracking and messaging, including SOS capabilities, an active satellite subscription is required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
The post The 10,000th inReach SOS: A Foot in the Wrong Direction appeared first on Garmin Blog.
In the darkness of night and more than halfway up Mount Rainier, Jaden Stewart and his two party members noticed a flashing light from across a ridgeline. An inReach® SOS trigger and 10-hour rescue ensued. He shared the story with Garmin.
We arrived at the ranger station at 7:30 a.m. to pick up our backpacking permit, eager to get on the trail. The plan was to climb Mount Rainier via Ptarmigan Ridge — a more technical route that scales the northwest side of the mountain. The route starts at White River and has two major glacier crossings before gaining elevation drastically via snow-covered slopes, with the possibility of technical rock or ice climbing. As we discussed the route and our preparation with the rangers, we were informed that another party was attempting the climb and had started the day before us. Soon enough we were packed and on the trail.
After 10 miles, two glacier crossings and a vertical gain of 7,000’, we had finally reached high camp. We began melting snow for use as drinking water and to rehydrate our dinners. We could now overlook the technical portion of the route — the first part of the climb consisted of a traverse beneath a serac where there was a high potential of rock and ice fall. As we sat eating our dinners, we watched as rocks showered the face, and large portions of the serac tumbled down the slopes — breaking into smaller pieces. As the cold started to set in, we quickly stored all our personal items and tucked into sleeping bags for the night. We made a final check of the weather using our Garmin inReach satellite communication device, and with no bad weather in the forecast were able to rest for the short night under the stars.
At 1 a.m., my Garmin fēnix® watch chirped and buzzed, causing annoyance until I remembered I was more than halfway up Mount Rainier. I slowly awoke, not eager to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag. It was so cold that I ate breakfast and changed, all before removing a single part of my body from the sleeping bag. All of us were up and moving around under dim light when suddenly we noticed something: a headlamp on Ptarmigan Ridge.
We were immediately concerned that something may have happened to the party ahead of us. Seeing a single headlamp allows one’s mind to assume the worst. Though it was possible that the party had just been postponed, we knew immediately that we needed to start moving toward the individual and try to make contact, just in case. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing heavily, and there was no way to contact the individual from that distance. So with haste, we packed up camp, roped up and began crossing the first technical ridgeline.
Every so often, we glanced over the ridge to the location of the individual. Eventually, they began flashing SOS with their headlamp. An accident had clearly occurred. Climbing was no longer on the table; instead, a rescue was initiated.
We determined that the individual was not moving, and upon further discussion decided that triggering an SOS on the inReach Mini device was the best choice. At that point in the morning, there was nothing more to do but sit and wait. Once the sun rose, we would be able to survey the scene, though we moved as close as we could without putting our own lives at risk — just close enough to contact the individual during pauses from the gusting wind.
It was hard to communicate from afar, but we were able to get some basic information: the individual was alone and was unable to move due to a broken leg. We confirmed to them that search and rescue (SAR) had been contacted. The three of us discussed the options as a small amount of light started to show the debris-covered slopes before us. If we were going to help this individual, it needed to be sooner rather than later as to not put our own lives at risk. Upon further discussion, we decided we needed to move closer to the individual and investigate the scene further. As the sun pierced the skies and lighted the path below us, we made our move.
We introduced ourselves to the individual and immediately started asking questions while surveying the scene. The partner of the individual had already left to get help. It was determined that the individual had been struck by a rock while climbing, breaking both his tibia and fibula, and causing an open wound. We assessed the wound, but everything was tightly bound with a sleeping pad and splint made from a snow picket. We could not see any visible bleeding and figured it was best to not undo the wrapping. The best solution was to keep the individual warm and move to a safe location for rescuers to remove him from the mountain.
Two of us picked him up over our shoulders, trying hard not to let his bad leg move. The other shoved all of his gear into a pack and grabbed anything that couldn’t fit. It took what felt like forever to move him about 200 yards back across the slope and out of the debris field, but all of us were then in a safer position on the mountain — although not completely safe. It was paramount that we got the individual into a sleeping bag, and we quickly pulled out our emergency bivy in every attempt to keep him warm. We also heated up tea for him to drink and keep against his body while in the sleeping bag.
The world became quite small as we all somehow knew each other from home. He shared with us the series of events that lead to this situation. Apparently, they found out that moving up the planned route would put them in danger of rockfall. As they discussed that, they had mentioned seeing rock and snow fall from the route. Since there was an inherent danger, they made the choice to try and cut up the gut of the route — forging their own path. Only a short distance into starting their climb, a rock came down and struck the individual’s leg.
The partner had medical training and was able to stop the bleeding and brace the leg with a snow picket. He was, however, unable to move the hurt individual, ultimately making the call to get off the mountain to summon help. We later came to find out that the partner had gotten himself into trouble getting off the mountain, which caused him to take longer to get back to civilization. It was apparent that the individual was lucky that we had come along before his partner would have been able to get help.
There was not much we could do at that point other than wait for emergency services. I had gotten confirmation via inReach message that the SAR team was trying everything in their power to get a helicopter dispatched but was having trouble finding anyone who could fly in the weather. Even though it was clear, the winds still howled at what we estimated to be 30 mph. Everyone was closing their eyes to get rest; however, I stayed awake to make sure my responses to the inReach messages coming in were with haste. Then, a message came confirming that a military helicopter was on its way.
At 1 p.m., we heard the rotors faintly in the distance as the outlined shape of a Chinook helicopter pierced the skyline. The loud sound of the Chinook rattled us to our cores. It took time for the Chinook to survey the scene and determine if they could land. Eventually, two individuals were lowered from the helicopter to assess the individual and begin the rescue. Soon, the helicopter was headed back to pick up the individual and the rescuers. We, however, were not going to get a free ride off the mountain. Due to the high winds, it was far too dangerous to take us out with them.
We moved away as the helicopter came back around, hovering overhead and causing ice shards to cut into our faces from the surface below. We watched as the last rescuer was pulled into the belly of the beast, and with a quick move, silence overcame us. We were alone again on the empty rock, but now we were exhausted and had hours of walking ahead of us. We quickly packed everything away as time was of the essence — we had to get back to the cars before night fell upon us.
As we neared the glacier, a heavy fog dropped down the mountain, engulfing us in a white abyss. It made it very difficult to see even the person in front of me, and I felt as though I was on a barren landscape with no sense of direction and no visual aids to help in crossing the glacier. Plus my phone had died — along with my downloaded map. Luckily, my partners had the same map downloaded and were able to keep us moving forward. I was also fortunate to have my fēnix watch, which had my location and maps. In a worst-case scenario, the watch would have sufficed to keep us on track.
As we moved along, my mind was in a daze — just moving one foot in front of the other and following the line tugging at my waist. I wondered if we would ever get to the other side or ever see any color other than white. Slowly, we stomped along until finally the ridge appeared. The two glacier crossings were now at our back, and a safer environment was just ahead. Crampons were no longer required, and we knew the massive snowfield ahead went straight to the trail below. Lined up and ready to go, we all set off down the mountain, sliding on our butts using the ice axes as a rudder to direct us — a much faster way to get down. The dirt trail still took some time, but every step down I knew I was almost back.
Eventually, more and more people were visible and soon, even some cars. We had finally made it, and the adventure was now behind us. Of course, we still had to drive to the nearest town to stay. In the end, we slept in the car with no luck at finding a place to stay, but after being awake for 24 hours, it was one of the best night’s sleeps I have ever had.
NOTICE: To access the Iridium® satellite network for live tracking and messaging, including SOS capabilities, an active satellite subscription is required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
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Since 2011, Garmin inReach® satellite technology has helped individuals stay in touch globally, send and receive messages outside of cellphone service, navigate routes, track and share journeys and, when necessary, trigger an interactive SOS message to Garmin Response, the 24/7 staffed global emergency response coordination center.
Now more than 10,000 individuals’ lives have been changed from the help they received after triggering an SOS message on their inReach device. Read on for a look at the statistical breakdown of SOS incidents from the past 11 years.
Where are SOS incidents triggered from?In the event of an emergency, an interactive SOS message can be sent to the 24/7 staffed Garmin Response Center. The trained staff is available to respond to messages, track devices and coordinate with emergency services or others to provide assistance, giving individuals peace of mind in the scariest of situations. Garmin Response stays in touch with individuals until help arrives or until they no longer require assistance.
With 100% global Iridium® satellite network coverage, an SOS can be triggered globally.* That includes lesser traveled places — the southern Pacific Ocean and northern Canada, for example. It is interesting to note how conglomerations of incidents indicate mountainous regions, such as the Pacific Crest Trail in western United States, the Alps in Europe and nearly all of New Zealand.
The locations of SOS incidents speak to the power of the Iridium satellite network, the intel of inReach technology, and the sophisticated inner workings of Garmin Response and its ability to make timely connections with local emergency resources in almost any region of the world.
What are people doing when they trigger an SOS?An overwhelming 39% of SOS triggers come from adventurers who are out hiking or backpacking. Interestingly, the next highest number of SOS triggers (12%) comes from driving incidents, proving that you don’t have to be stuck on a rocky cliff or lost at sea to hit the SOS button. Many of the driving incidents involve people simply needing help while on the road and outside of cellphone service. Seemingly normal situations can become worrisome quickly depending on the location and if supplies are lacking or weather conditions are worsening.
The top five activities that people are doing when they trigger an inReach SOS are:
- Hiking/Backpacking
- Driving
- Motorcycling
- Climbing/Mountaineering
- Boating
Other activities that inReach users have triggered an SOS for include snow sports, dirt biking, flying, rafting, off-roading, horseback riding and many others.
Why are people triggering an SOS?Many people doing outdoor activities create the potential for many emergency situations. The top reason that inReach users trigger an SOS is for injuries, at 30%. An injury can refer to a variety of problems such as broken bones, lacerations or blunt force trauma from a fall. The second most popular reason to trigger an SOS, at 17%, is for medical issues, which can refer to concerns like altitude sickness, heart problems and gastrointestinal issues, among others.
The top five reasons people trigger an inReach SOS:
- Injury
- Medical issue
- Vehicle accident
- Stranded/Stuck
- Vehicle issue
Other reasons include natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes and avalanches; becoming hypothermic or hyperthermic; being stuck, stranded or lost; and activity-based problems like vessel or vehicle issues and gear failure.
Who are people triggering an SOS for?A frequent question we get is who an SOS can be triggered for. The answer is simple: Anybody. While many SOS incidents are for the actual inReach subscriber, nearly two-thirds are for the subscriber’s party member or an unknown third-party individual. An SOS can also be triggered to report emergencies, including wildfires or vehicle accidents. As such, we always try to reiterate that it’s important to carry an inReach because you never know who or what you might come across when outside of cellphone service.
The next 10,000 SOS incidentsThe global map of inReach SOS incidents truly drives home the power of inReach devices and how the technology provides peace of mind to so many — both those out recreating and loved ones at home. We at Garmin appreciate that so many outdoor enthusiasts trust inReach to be their connection to help while they are out and we remain committed to creating innovative products designed for active lifestyle customers around the world.
Learn More About Triggering an SOS on an inReach Device
*NOTICE: To access the Iridium satellite network for live tracking and messaging, including SOS capabilities, an active satellite subscription is required. Some jurisdictions regulate or prohibit the use of satellite communication devices. It is the responsibility of the user to know and follow all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where the device is intended to be used.
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“The watch actually alerted me before the plane did. We never declared an emergency thanks to the watch.” Pilot Ryan Cianciolo says what originally attracted him to the Garmin D2™ Air X10 smartwatch was the battery life — and then less than a week after purchasing it, it notified him of a potentially dangerous situation […]
The post Garmin Smartwatch Alerts Pilot to Climbing Cabin Pressure appeared first on Garmin Blog.
The SOS activations came in 25 minutes apart. The first — a hiker reporting having found a lost child, unsure what to do or where to go. The second — a parent reporting having become separated from their child. Associates at the 24/7 staffed Garmin International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) are trained to deal […]
The post Garmin Emergency Response Center and inReach® Help Reunite Lost Child with Parent appeared first on Garmin Blog.
A relaxing soak in a river on a hot day turned into an emergency when Scott Crabtree’s party member was unknowingly bit by a Mojave Green rattlesnake. The inReach® subscriber shared his story with Garmin. There were 10 of us on a 7-day trip in the Grand Canyon — doing the Thunder River Deer Creek […]
The post Group Helps Save Woman Bit by Rattlesnake on Hiking Trip appeared first on Garmin Blog.
In May and June 2022, a spike in cases of gastrointestinal issues with symptoms consistent with the highly contagious norovirus were reported at Grand Canyon National Park. Subscriber Kristine Key shared with Garmin her story of helping one group of critically ill hikers. I was hiking solo on Boucher Trail. It’s a brutal trail even […]
The post Woman Uses inReach® to Evacuate Sick Hiker From Grand Canyon appeared first on Garmin Blog.
A powerful underwater volcanic eruption and ensuing tsunami on Jan. 15, 2022, devastated the island nation of Tonga. In addition to mass destruction, the eruption severed the island nation’s sole communication conduit, an undersea cable, causing a digital cutoff from the rest of the world until phone and internet could begin to be restored. The […]
The post After Devastating Volcano Eruption, inReach® Devices Provide Critical Communication appeared first on Garmin Blog.
One winter, Guy Gagnon was in northwestern Maine, close to the Canadian border, and went out to test his new snowmobile for the first ride of the season. He wasn’t planning to go far, and didn’t think he would run into any problems with a new sled. He did. He shared the story with Garmin. I had gone […]
The post Snowmobiler Caught in Snowstorm Uses inReach® for Rescue appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Gabe Kitter, a 31-year-old lifelong Alaskan, has been riding snowmobiles since nearly as long as he could walk. He considers himself a very experienced rider and shared with Garmin the story that he said would be “unbelievable if you would have told it to me previous to my accident.” The accident happened on a spring […]
The post SOS: Snowmobiler Seriously Injured After Fall Off Ledge appeared first on Garmin Blog.
After Marlies van Dijk tore her ACL deep in the backcountry while skiing with her family — immobilizing her from any further skiing — she had to initiate an SOS on her inReach® satellite communicator and crawl to safety. She shared with Garmin what she felt she did right that day — and what she […]
The post Lessons Learned From a Backcountry Skiing Helicopter Rescue appeared first on Garmin Blog.
When a peaceful backcountry escape to celebrate their wedding anniversary turned into an urgent need for evacuation, Bryan and June Bradley were glad they had their inReach® satellite communicator1 so they could trigger an SOS. Bryan shared a condensed version of their story with Garmin. My wife and I were off on a 10-mile, cross-country […]
The post SOS: A Wedding Anniversary Trip Gone Wrong appeared first on Garmin Blog.
By Alex Korkishko After Alex Korkishko’s raft hit a rock, Alex’s 75-year-old father fell into a cold, rushing Alaskan river. It was up to Alex, his friend Bryan and son Max to come to the rescue, and fortunately, they were prepared. He shared the story with Garmin. The day the incident occurred, we were finishing […]
The post Son Helps Save 75-year-old Father After Rafting Accident appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Matt Pinchak does not remember falling. He remembers when the rope got stuck while climbing a multipitch route with his wife. He remembers his attempt to free the rope. And then he remembers waking up at the base of the mountain, unable to move. It was his wife who watched him tumble while trying to […]
The post Rock Climber Coordinates Rescue for Husband After 250’ Fall appeared first on Garmin Blog.
Kinga Philipps is no stranger to outdoor adventures. In fact, it’s her whole life. The writer, producer and television journalist has spent the past 20 years traveling the globe, diving, spearfishing, surfing, swimming with sharks, kitesurfing, bungee jumping, free diving and mountain biking — just to name a few. The day that Philipps ultimately needed […]
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