So I do not plan to die, but I am stupid so the law says I have to spend $500 so you can find my body…..

The new legislative season is about to start so we are going to get many stupid ideas. (Season is probably wrong; if it truly were a season, we would have a limit on whatever is being hunted such as votes.)

It is being reported that an argument is being made that climbers on Mt. Hood should be required to carry avalanche beacons to that SAR can find the lost climber’s bodies quickly.

1.    They are called Avalanche Beacons not locator beacons. They are used to find live people in an avalanche.

2.    Their range is limited. You cannot fly over with a helicopter and find beacon signals. You have to get on the ground and stomp around, just as SAR does now.

3.    Consequently, you will not save a dime if you are responsible for SAR and worried about the cost of finding a body.

See Mount Hood deaths raise questions about locator beacons.

The new Yuppie 911 devices (including the Spot and other 911 button beacons(personal locator beacons)) have not been studied enough to know if the theory is true, but many SAR people think ideas like this encourage idiots to go into the woods. The box will keep me safe; therefore, I can go be stupid.

The reporter who wrote the article and the legislator who is proposing the bill do not know how beacons work, how should we expect the rest of the public to know? The people commenting on the article are confused. Some believe an avalanche beacon works like a spot and some believe a spot works like an avalanche beacon.

A spot and other genre are an electronic box that when you press the button sends a message to a satellite that says you are in trouble and this is where you are. It is hard to activate a spot in an avalanche, or after you are dead.

An avalanche beacon continually sends out signals with your location, whether you are in trouble or not. You do not have to do anything, the beacon is always in the come find you mode. However, it only signals satellites, they do not really talk to satellites.

Recco Avalanche System are “strips” or reflectors that are implanted in clothing or attached to you that when used with a Recco locator or Detector finds the strips, even from a helicopter. Requiring Recco strips helps find bodies. Recco strips are free, all ready in most clothing and work well.

 
Keywords: Mt. Hood, Avalanche Beacons, Personal Locator Beacons, Recco Avalanche System, Recco, SAR, Search and Rescue,