Well presumably you do not need to check such messages. The purpose is only important if the person doesn't return as expected, at which point you might use the messages to work out between which points they... got into trouble?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Weathercam, I’ve used InReach since it first came out, though I’ve just stopped my subscription after yet another price increase, in the expectation that I’ll buy a new one or switch to Apple.
I’ve typically used mine in multi day/ week wilderness situations where the weather forecast is an incredibly useful and potentially life-saving feature. In addition if I think it’s a higher risk (or higher impact) situation, I use the regular tracking feature. This is where inreach is a superior proposition to a PLB - the latter requires you to be in a position to trigger it and for it to be functional whereas InReach means the rescue services know where to start looking if you don’t check in with base. Possibly a body recovery if it’s taken that long, but at least the outcome becomes certain much faster.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I hardly ever use it to send messages, but I use the phone app (have an inreach mini 2). It definitely takes a bit of time to find a satellite and send a message, which is why if my leg was hanging off I would be activating my PLB first.
It’s more useful for getting up to date weather forecasts outside of phone reception.
I think the time is coming where I won’t be using an inreach. I have basic starlink on my phone now, and as those services get expanded and more reliable the inreach will be pointless.
I hardly ever use it to send messages, but I use the phone app (have an inreach mini 2). It definitely takes a bit of time to find a satellite and send a message, which is why if my leg was hanging off I would be activating my PLB first.
It’s more useful for getting up to date weather forecasts outside of phone reception.
I think the time is coming where I won’t be using an inreach. I have basic starlink on my phone now, and as those services get expanded and more reliable the inreach will be pointless.
I wonder if the delay is a southern hemisphere thing? In N America it rarely takes more than a minute and often just seconds, particularly if it’s been running in track mode. Tho mine is a full size original model, not the mini, which might also account for it.
I agree that the use case is fading as phones get 2-way satellite connections. Hence cancelling my subs.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:
I've had an InReach for a number of years, (as I often ski-tour on my own) and find it a tad irksome to pay the monthly subscription for when I'm nowhere near the mountains, even though you can buy six months but it all works out pretty well the same, and for instance, when not using it in the mountains in the Summer
@Weathercam, I'm in the same boat. I spend a lot more time in the mountains than most, and most of it solo, and really can't justify it. Over the next 12 months;
Nearly 2.5 months in Nepal hiking and trail running. Other than 4-5 days it's simply not that remote - never far away from a lodge with WiFi, and always enough people around that I'm not too worried. Also the risk of serious injury is so low.
2 months ski touring in kyrgyzstan. Mostly solo so inreach definitely would make sense for this.
2 months hiking/trail running in Kyrgyzstan. Even here the routes (at least where I'm based) are simply not that remote. Never that far from some shepherds or a yurt. Also again, risk of serious injury pretty low.
1-2 months of either some high altitude mountaineering or a long distance hike/trail run through Alps or Pyranees. For the high altitude stuff radio to base camp is quicker than inreach. For the long distance trail stuff I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) phone signal is not that hard to find, also pretty low risk of serious injury and again not that remote that I wouldn't expect to be seeing other people fairly regularly.
In my experience most of the people I see using inreach are doing things where it's imo massive overkill. And I say this as someone who's fairly cautious and generally risk averse. Of course if they have it for some other activities and have already paid for the subscription why not always carry it "just in case".
My only time using one is on the silk road mountain race, where they were provided as mandatory equipment. I'd say this kind of thing is a good example of the kind of activity where they are useful - very remote sections, fast/technical descents where risk of serious injury is not insignificant.
Like I said before, I had one and thought I'd lost it, and couldn't accept the fact that I could do without it, as I thought I would incur some sort of Karma etc in much the same way as I don't contribute to couch sofa avalanche fatality threads on here, as you never know what might be just around the corner (or over a cliff) as having had two very lucky escapes.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
hang11 wrote:
I have basic starlink on my phone now, and as those services get expanded and more reliable the inreach will be pointless.
Tell me more ? I didn't realise starlink / phone was a thing.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@ousekjarr, ta. so maybe coming soon(ish).
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
seems that way, yes - but existing emergency coverage via satellite has been operational for several years now (iPhone 14 or higher). It's not quite seamless, but it works:
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@hang11, Thanks. I did hear rumors that satellite connectivity was close but hadn't heard more.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
OK hands-up as it were.
Last year prior to my Brazil trip I thought that Internet connectivity might be an issue out there as I was going to what I though were potential off-grid places. I was stunned to find that even the most basic cafe had Internet as they were all using Starlink, which I was totally unaware of; and I used to regard myself as a bit of a techy
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@AndAnotherThing.., I believe there's two separate satellite capabilities at work here.
For all iPhone from 13 upwards, there is a service that requires your network operator to participate, which very few of them have done. This uses Starlink.
For the 14 and upwards, there is a service is provided by Apple, via Globalstar, independent of the operator, so AFAIK everyone gets it unless they are in an unsupported region.
I think iPhone 14 users can also use the network-provided satellite service, i.e. they have a choice of how to connect. But stand to be corrected on that if anyone has more info.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@snowdave, I’m not an expert but I think that it’s a bit of a different type of satellite deal. The one in nz with Starlink is what used to be Vodafone and was touted as a world first trial, that will end up with full Starlink connectivity on your phone anywhere - nz having sfa of mobile coverage normally.
The other type is available on other networks but is much more basic.
On my phone when I lose network coverage I get a little satellite icon show on the screen. It used to have “sos” written on it, so it was only for emergency messaging, but now it allows me to send and receive texts. Don’t have to do anything to switch. No charge (yet) for it either.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@hang11, what your describing sounds very like the first one I describe, i.e. network operator in conjunction with Starlink which gives a lot of functionality. I wasn't aware it was available in NZ (not a market I've looked at much!) but it's being rolled out by T-mobile in US and maybe Europe. It also works on some newer android phones that have the right aerial/modem/software combo. Your phone basically talks to a Starlink satellite as if it was a cell tower.
If you've got an iPhone 14 or newer, you've probably got something buried in the settings that lets you turn on/off the network-provider satellite (Starlink in your case), and just use the Apple (Globalstar) one, but with lower functionality.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:
Last year prior to my Brazil trip I thought that Internet connectivity might be an issue out there as I was going to what I though were potential off-grid places. I was stunned to find that even the most basic cafe had Internet as they were all using Starlink
Some of the backcountry yurts in kyrgyzstan offer WiFi using starlink. I guess these more remote places have had more of an incentive to pick up these things.
It's fantastic for safety and also local people (many of the shepherds living up there will ride over to the yurt to use it to connect with family).
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Hells Bells wrote:
ousekjarr wrote:
And on more recent phones, emergency calls will fall back to using satellite coverage.
I recently attended my annual CPR training As health professionals we were advised to use 112 instead of 999 particularly if using a mobile phone to make the call, or if looking after a casualty collapsed in the street or similar, as it gives a more precise location to the call handler. I'm not about to try calling it, but I was told it gives a location on the hone screen along with a code to give to the call handler which would translate to GPS coordinates.
This seems extremely unlikely to have ever been different given mobile phones don't 'dial' the emergency number (instead the phone is programmed with the number (Phone and sim have a list, and network can send one) and uses a different calling protocol (makes it easier to do things like use strongest network connection rather than paid carrier; also handling of bypassing lock screens, or the phone triggering location providing service if it supports sending it, etc) so mobiles don't do anything different for 112 and 999.
Though there are very good reasons to use 112.
EU standardized on it a long time ago and as a result lots of other countries copied it. (Google says its part of GSM standard and I assume is in successors, so any mobile phone will call emergency services on 112 anywhere in the world)
So 112 works in a lot of countries from any telephone, while dialing 999 on a french landline (probably) isn't going to help...
@qwerty360, from French landlines. Although I am sure 112 will also work.
15 - SAMU. The French Emergency Medical Assistance Service. ...
17 - EMERGENCY POLICE NUMBER. ...
18 - FIRE BRIGADE. ...
114 - FRENCH EMERGENCY NUMBER FOR DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PEOPLE. ...
112 - UNIQUE EUROPEAN EMERGENCY NUMBER (when calling from mobile phones)
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@snowdave, cheers - looking up the counties covered by the iPhone SOS service I get -
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.
As I mention above I know someone who used it in the uk for mountain rescue and it worked well
Timely email just received, though have not read the details as I doubt I'll be saving loads of €
Plan Update for inReach® Customers
In September 2024, we launched new, simplified inReach plans1 that include no annual fee and increased messages and weather forecasts on most plan levels.
Customers with Freedom plans will be automatically migrated to the new plans on the next annual anniversary of plan activation.
Your anniversary date is 11/1/2025. On that date, you will be moved to the new plans. You will not be charged an annual fee.
Once moved, you will have access to the new Suspend option, which lets you pause your service for up to 12 months at a time with no annual or monthly fee.
Please review the details of the upcoming plan change below.
Additional Edit.
Have now had a quick look and there are some savings to be made
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Don't think it has been mentioned above, but in France as of about 10 years ago the gendarmerie (and also many ski patrol services) use an application (GendLoc) which can locate the mobile phone of the caller - they send an SMS with a link you click on. Have used it once and it was very effective as long as : - you have signal, - you have an internet connection, - you have location sharing switched on ...
After all it is free
After all it is free
@offpisteskiing, that's a lot of "if's" - that's why I went for the InReach for precisely those reasons, as at least two locations I frequent a good number of times a season have zero connectivity.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
The main reason I carry an Inreach as a "just in case" option is specifically so that I have an option which is separate from my phone. I do not want to have to rely on a (touch-screen) phone in an emergency scenario which is likely to include running late and / or bad weather (these things have a habit of event-cascading....). Dead battery (yes, I carry a battery bank, even so...) and unusable touch-screens are pretty likely scenarios. I have had the joy of attempting to use a phone when mountain biking in heavy rain on many occasions!
On top of that, the number of areas I ride in winter where there is no phone signal (mostly in the French / Swiss Alps) is much higher than you might think. In Tignes, Val d'Isere and Sainte Foy, if you're properly "off the back" off piste, you probably don't have a phone signal.
This is for professional guiding, where we have an obligation to be able to call for help from any location. At home (Tarentaise) I also carry a radio with direct contact to the local mountain rescue.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I have an InReach which I tend to carry with me if I'm hiking, mountaineering or skitouring and always if I'm solo (really only hiking or easy scrambling. I was recently hiking solo around Les Contamines and off the main (TMB etc) trails. It was quiet, I was on my own, terrain was rugged and occasionally somewhat serious and there were some decent sections without cell phone coverage. I'm was glad to have it. It's very much a secondary feature given the very basic display but it's also a back up gps nav device.
Recently replaced my Fenix 5 with a Fenix 8 and the nav on that is now really good - good enough to be my primary. I have key way points loaded to both (and the phone).
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Weathercam, how well do the new in-reach subscription rates compare to the old rates? I can only find the new ones now.
The cost of paying a subscription in months I wouldn't be using it was amogst the things that put me off getting one.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@adithorp, new fear unlocked - did I remember to renew my subscription for this month, or not?
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Assuming I’m in areas covered by the iPhone Emergancy satellite service is there a reason to get an inreach or similar?
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Guess it depends on what your risk tolerance is as to whether or not you see a use case for an inreach. I’ve destroyed a few phones getting out of my truck, not sure I would trust one to be my primary comms device in any remote or risky situation.
Personally I trust a PLB the most. No subs to pay and I know from several people that they work quickly and efficiently ( in countries that have that service )
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
There is a "range" of emergencies. I'd only consider using a PLB in the most serious, when there is no other possibility of rescue - it's a last resort, rather than a way of saying "I've fallen on the mountainside and broken my ankle, come and get me out of here". Perhaps that's because when I first came across PLBs they were absolutely not for use on land - using them, like using a marine VHF, was prohibited. If a lot of hikers started using PLBs around the countryside in the UK (given the propensity of people to head up into the hills with no idea and little of the gear) I imagine the capacity of the service would soon be exceeded.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Does anyone have any recommendations for an "emergency app" for basic (cheap Chinese) Android mobiles? Will be doing some (unadventurous) walking on my own in the French alps at the end of the month and am aware that even a minor fall could be a problem. And perhaps I will dig my PLB out of the boat and take that - as a back up.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
AndAnotherThing.. wrote:
Assuming I’m in areas covered by the iPhone Emergancy satellite service is there a reason to get an inreach or similar?
my guess is not except battery life and ruggedness.
That said, there have been enough stories about groups getting in trouble by relying solely on a phone for nav and it failing that I would always want a back up device if I was in the wild anyway and for me an InReach is a good candidate for that (comms and nav).
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
AndAnotherThing.. wrote:
Assuming I’m in areas covered by the iPhone Emergancy satellite service is there a reason to get an inreach or similar?
One clear advantage of InReach, as I mentioned upthread, is that InReach can be configured to leave a breadcrumb trail. If you are incapacitated and unable to call for help, or lose signal, or the tech fails, it's easy for rescuers to see your last known location and work from there. InReach is very power efficient; mine will run for 2-3 weeks in tracking mode.
@jedster, @snowdave, Cheers, all good points. I think for me it would depend just how remote I was planning to be, and the nature of the group (if any) I was with.
On the nav, I think the main issue is the quality of the mapping used in some apps.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Origen wrote:
Does anyone have any recommendations for an "emergency app" for basic (cheap Chinese) Android mobiles? Will be doing some (unadventurous) walking on my own in the French alps at the end of the month and am aware that even a minor fall could be a problem. And perhaps I will dig my PLB out of the boat and take that - as a back up.
Does anyone have any recommendations for an "emergency app" for basic (cheap Chinese) Android mobiles? Will be doing some (unadventurous) walking on my own in the French alps at the end of the month and am aware that even a minor fall could be a problem. And perhaps I will dig my PLB out of the boat and take that - as a back up.
Have a look at EchoSOS
I was trying to remember that one too
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
AndAnotherThing.. wrote:
@jedster, @snowdave, Cheers, all good points. I think for me it would depend just how remote I was planning to be, and the nature of the group (if any) I was with.
On the nav, I think the main issue is the quality of the mapping used in some apps.
Totally agree on those considerations. I got my InReach mainly because I expected to be doing some fairly ambitious solo hiking.
On the mapping, obviously that is quite rudimentary on an InReach (or a Fenix watch although that is now a lot better) but as a way of getting you to a critical waypoint in a sticky situation it is quite effective. I'd still prefer to have a physical map too and to do my route planning on phone/ipad/pc but once I've uploaded some way points and know the shape of the day I can happily leave the map in the bag and use the watch.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
