beaconing anyone?

I sometimes tramp by myself so I have just bought a McMurdo mini fastfind, which is the lightest one around at 175g. Not cheap though - $799 with FMC discount. Got it from Aviation Safety, who will email you a list of all the different ones they have. Our local msc hire PLB's for $10/day, $20/wkend, $40/week.

I struggled with the idea of a PLB for a long time and finally bought the same fast find 211 about a month ago. They have finally come up with one that is small enough and light enough to disappear into my pack and be forgotten until needed. The second heaviest thing in my pack after food is my first aid kit. I suspect that everybodies personal kit has all sorts of interesting things (I wouldnt mind five minutes in pmcke's i think it would make aladins cave look miserable). You dont need to perform minor surgery or fix broken bones but there are any number of small and large problems that can be catered for that will make your trip a safe one.

On many trips where there is good cell phone coverage or you have sufficient people on the trip to get help then a beacon probably isn't really necessary. You have to remember that trampers have been tramping in the NZ mountains safely for decades without beacons. I have hired one from the Mountain Radio Service for 2 trips this year at the cost of $5 a day, total 10 days = $50. At that rate it will take 16 years before the cost of hirage reaches the cost of purchase. I can see advantages in owning one so it would really be a function of how often you are away on the type of trip where a beacon would be useful in an emergency.

I don't know about alladin's cave but I do know a tube of antiseptic powder has burst in there so it is all full of white stuff. Anyway it is well overdue for it's 10 yearly overhall. Must look in there someday myself. Most things you can improvise with in the hills. I think I have a few sterile pads, a crepe bandage of some sort. Cream for minor burns, antihisimine, scissors and tweezers and the most important thing of all GOOD STRONG PAIN KILLERS, something codine based or bordering on illegal. I figure that if you are hurt out there then you are probably going to have to wait so you may as well dope up.

Im with you on the strong pain killers. The main reason in the end for the PLB purchase was to give my wife peace of mind. After all its her that gives me the time to myself a couple of days a month without complaint.

I own a beacon which I take on more remote trips and anything where I'm by myself. Whether to buy or hire depends on your tramping habits - I wouldn't want to hire one every weekend, but if you do a small number of long trips then hiring may work. Sure people have been in the mountains without beacons for many centuries and I imagine (hope) I'll never use mine. It's no substitute for more important ways of staying safe. But it's easy to think of circumstances where it will save your life; circumstances that do happen. For example, this guy http://www.teararoa.org.nz/index.cfm/PageID/4/ViewPage/News/fullarticle/62 probably died because he didn't have a beacon. Survived the fall (we know this because he covered up his injured legs) but no way of alerting rescuers where he was. A less important reason is it can make people less worried if you are just overdue. This has happened to me - while not stopping all worries for those wondering why you're late, it generally helps to know the party has a beacon which hasn't gone off and hence they are either all dead (unlikely), lost the pack (unlikely) or just overdue (quite likely). But I'm not a fanatic for beacons and I do get annoyed with ignorant media commentary that portrays deciding to go without a beacon as the ultimate irresponsibility. PE

Yes, the fellow you mention there might still be alive if he had had a beacon. But he might also still be alive if (a) he had told someone where he was going (b) Had not been travelling alone (c) Had taken the correct and well documented route off Rabbit Pass rather than trying to find his own. I am not against beacons, to the contrary, now that they are small enough to be a negligable addition to the pack I think it is very prudent to have one. But it must not be at the expence of all the traditional methods we have used to remain safe and self sufficient in the mountains. I also agree whole heartedly with your last comment there.

After our most experienced climber in our party fell off Tappy 400 metres and survived due to having a beacon with us,(http://hellmission.webs.com/moderatehellmissions.htm --4 story down) we brought a GME GPS beacon from Trig instruments (http://www.triginstruments.co.nz/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=874) which is cheaper than the FMC deal. I would not go solo without one since trampers by themselves are known to disappear off the map especially on long tramps when the panic date is too far advanced if a accident were to occur near the start of a trip. Although you should not assume that now you have a beacon that you can do trips out of your experience zone. You should still choose trips that you are comfortable with. You should also still know basic survival techniques/first aid and if you can then getting yourself to a helicopter landing site is wise otherwise it will be a winch job. It is also good if you can survive and get yourself out of trouble without using the beacon.

I cant afford to buy a beacon but if anyone has any idea were to hire them cheap could ya let me know, ive looked at that 406 beacon hire website but its abit expensive. i will look at buying my own next year as I want to start going solo etc butwill just hire one for now