GPS/PLB, Mapping, and Navigation

[JohnSKepler]

What great replies! Gives me some great things to think about.

For me, in most cases I'm not going to need a paper map or a compass. I know this flies in the face of old-school survival, and I'm very old school, and old, but I ski mainly on well-known, well-marked trails, and well-traveled, routes that snake along canyons. Go down, you get out, go up, you don't. Very rarely do they even have other ways in. The GPS is more for knowing how far I've gone than for navigating me home.

My primary safety device is people knowing where I'm supposed to be. My wife and I have seen enough of those Weather Channel shows where people suddenly don't know where they are and just start wandering. So, she and I have agreed that if we get lost we hunker down. If we're not back by some time, something is wrong. A backcountry communications device can't do much better than that and my primary desire to have one will be to tell my wife a) I'm getting home later than I thought but all is well, b) I'm going somewhere other than what we discussed, or c) SOS.

Of these, c) is my primary use case. Along with others here, I ski with certain structural injuries that could cause a problem. It's very unlikely but if a knee goes out I would prefer to get help rather than cause additional damage. All manner of injuries are possible and if one of these occurs when skiing alone, all the paper maps in the world and a lensatic compass aren't going to make up for somebody knowing where you went and when you are supposed to be back. No one can foresee or plan for every eventuality and trying to do so will result in paralysis. But, with cheap insurance like this, if it is readily and cheaply available, and you need it, and don't have it...

That said, my skiing is getting more ambitious and when that happens I will definitely have paper maps, compass, as well as electronic aids. That is why I have local maps up in my office. Familiarity with surroundings is time well spent. When leaving known territory, one must ratchet up the care and prepare even better. But I'll still carry my electronic aids and messaging device.

[randoskier]

True, sad people do not prepare for their sport and need nanny care.