Elbert S&R last night

[Carl_Healy]

Wondering if they tried GPS on their phone at all?

Don't even need a GPX track, if they had cell coverage the standard route shows up in Google Maps by default...

Your brain thinks differently in life or death scenarios, and without training/experience you may not remember things that are “automatic” under normal scenarios. Even experienced people encounter this phenomena. We read all the time about “target fixation” in airline accidents.

It’s possible they forgot - or never checked - which mapping apps have the trail on them. Or, one of the reports said they were on steep terrain aroun 12,800. Maybe they checked once it was clear the terrain was rugged, and then couldn’t find a route back to the trail. And of course, it’s possible that they only took guidance from social media, which makes Elbert seem like a walk up even to the uninitiated.

I’m glad the SAR teams successfully rescued the hikers.

Maps won’t work without cell service. Glad they made it out alive and hats off to S&R

Good points, though the KDVR story there indicated they did have cell service the whole time.

Either way glad this story had a happy ending.

[nyker]

Agree. And it only takes one wrong turn to get lost even on what's considered an easy trail. Then throw in deep snow, storm/whiteout, approaching nightfall, panic (missing a shoe?!) and probably cold and hunger/thirst then inexperience and all bets are off.

Good work to SAR.

[daway8]

Wondering if they tried GPS on their phone at all?

Don't even need a GPX track, if they had cell coverage the standard route shows up in Google Maps by default...

Your brain thinks differently in life or death scenarios, and without training/experience you may not remember things that are “automatic” under normal scenarios. Even experienced people encounter this phenomena. We read all the time about “target fixation” in airline accidents.

It’s possible they forgot - or never checked - which mapping apps have the trail on them. Or, one of the reports said they were on steep terrain aroun 12,800. Maybe they checked once it was clear the terrain was rugged, and then couldn’t find a route back to the trail. And of course, it’s possible that they only took guidance from social media, which makes Elbert seem like a walk up even to the uninitiated.

I’m glad the SAR teams successfully rescued the hikers.

Maps won’t work without cell service. Glad they made it out alive and hats off to S&R

Works fine without cell service - I use it all the time for getting to/from trailheads outside the range of cell service, but for full functionality you have to download the maps for offline access, which these guys almost certainly wouldn't have thought of (I got burned years ago relying on Google to get to the trailhead without realizing the need to download the maps for offline access).

I always get a kick out of the tourists who see me pull out my phone and open GAIA and say "that won't work out here, there's no cell service." I smile, show them the map and our current position and inform them about the invention of satellites.

[Barnold41]

It's unfortunate that SAR has to deal with situations like this, although that is part of the job... another negative of having more people in the mountains who probably wouldn't have been going before. I just don't understand the mentality of not checking forecasts, or going even when the forecast says cold and snow, if you aren't prepared for something like that. I know that certain people need to make those mistakes to learn from them, but to a point. It's November in Colorado, not July. Some friends and I were up on Snowmass Saturday when the storm rolled in about 4 hours earlier than forecasted, and luckily we were prepared for a windy/snowy day (it still made for a long day...).

[SkaredShtles]

Maps won’t work without cell service.

Uhhh... yes Maps *will* work without mobile service. If you know what you're doing.

[CaptCO]

Nope, you cannot use topo maps without pre-downloading them. You guys are wrong in what I am saying, focus more on the accident and less on the *I told you so*

or just try hiking more

(Guarantee these guys didn't have GAIA, Strava, or anything like that prior to leaving)

[SchralpTheGnar]

Reminds me of a hike I did in New Hampshire when I was about 20, hiked up a peak with a ton of snow sneakers and shorts in May, but the trail was packed so we had no problem hiking up, then we lost the trail on the way down, started post holing up to our waists, found a river to hike down and walked down this river, lost a shoe, but 4 hours later we made it back to the trailhead. Luckily now I know better.

[rpdawes]

If you are a full-time hiker, get a Garmin InReach Explorer! It's worth the investment!

[Trotter]

Nope, you cannot use topo maps without pre-downloading them. You guys are wrong in what I am saying, focus more on the accident and less on the *I told you so*

or just try hiking more

(Guarantee these guys didn't have GAIA, Strava, or anything like that prior to leaving)

Nobody said topo maps. They said google maps. And yes it works without cell service, as long as you've looked at that area fairly recently when you were in cell service. It saves the map data.

[CaptainSuburbia]

One of the 10 essentials should be a gpx track on your phone.

[CaptCO]

Luckily I think conditions since summer have been primo. Now that the snow is dumping for good, I think the rescue cases will be much more serious. I still think about the night I had to spend on Oxford, s**t sucked

[SkaredShtles]

Nope, you cannot use topo maps without pre-downloading them.

I looked back and you didn't have this caveat stated anywhere...