2-Way Radios (walkie-talkies), Mountain Rescues and Safety.

Having read Tony Marshall's Dragon's Wrath tale and the Berg Alert event earlier this year I have been wondering if anyone uses, has used or has considered using Walkie-Talkies as a means of communicating with Ezemvelo, or other Rescue Services?

I have little experience with them. I also recognise the simple answer is "Use a Garmin InReach of Spot"..."old tech"...etc
But seeing as Ezemvelo have been proven to be slow in answering phones locally (in Tony's case) and one may not always have cell phone reception it seems a logical question to ask.

Thoughts?

Carl,

A two-way radio (typical small home use handheld) will not have the reach to get in touch with the camp. Bigger units should work, but they are heavy and bulky. A cellphone should work fine in most instances. Also, hiking in a group helps a lot when things go wrong.

Carl Gebhard wrote:

Having read Tony Marshall's Dragon's Wrath tale and the Berg Alert event earlier this year I have been wondering if anyone uses, has used or has considered using Walkie-Talkies as a means of communicating with Ezemvelo, or other Rescue Services?

I have little experience with them. I also recognise the simple answer is "Use a Garmin InReach of Spot"..."old tech"...etc
But seeing as Ezemvelo have been proven to be slow in answering phones locally (in Tony's case) and one may not always have cell phone reception it seems a logical question to ask.

Thoughts?
 

With the garmin inreach you can try to contact the garmin center directly, they will contact the different organizations, or somebody else who could contact mountain rescue directly.

So, they will eventually will reach the camp. A garmin inreach is so small in comparison with a radio with high range. So, it is more practical in my opinion.

Best, Edwin.