A reminder as to why CASARA Navigators are primarily required to use “Pen & Map” skills to guide our aircraft through thick & thin. Not to say that we do not also use technology to help us in our Searches.

Mt Temple SW Ridge – Rescue Report
At 11:00 pm on August 5, two people started up the regular SW ridge of Mt. Temple. Their goal was to climb all night and watch the sunrise from the top. They downloaded a GPS track off the internet and followed their phone all the way up to 3200 meters until . . . the phone battery died. Now it was pitch black and they had no clue where to go. They traversed 500 meters across a ledge in the wrong direction, over cliffs and across steep snow patches until the sun came up and they called for a rescue.

Lessons learned:
Research the route thoroughly, learn to use a map, carry a paper copy of the route description and map, download GPS tracks onto both phones, and carry a spare battery.

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