Nov 12, '12: people lost, Paradise closed

They're going to have an even bigger epic digging out their car!

It's not clear what it means, but the car's being shoveled out now.

News

SEATTLE — A national park spokeswoman says searchers have located two snowboarders who spent two nights on Mount Rainier after getting lost in a snowstorm.

Mount Rainier National Park's Lee Snook says searchers are in contact with the two men and are making their way to them. She did not have other details, including their condition.

She says it could be a while before the snowboarders get off the mountain, depending on whether they can walk out on their own or need help.

The men – 21-year-old Derek Tyndall and 20-year-old Thomas Dale – were lost Sunday.

SPOT would have sorted this problem out immediately.  Glad I have one.  Yes its great to be self sufficient but my ego is not so large I can’t call for help and admit I’m lost.  Personally I use it more for Cross Country paragliding and landing out 50 miles from where I started so people can find me if I don’t hitch a lift home but a bonus was the use of it for BC winter travel too.  These guys would have been home Monday morning at the latest if using SPOT I guarantee it.

according to what I read they initiated cell phone contact quite early (at sunset when they decided to stop), relayed GPS coordinates, and maintained cell phone contact till the phone died; another report said they park pinged the cell phone and got their coordinates; it was said all along they knew where the two were. I don't see how a SPOT would have helped them anymore; a GPS with a track back feature or stored route would have been handy.

SPOT would have sorted this problem out immediately.  Glad I have one.  Yes its great to be self sufficient but my ego is not so large I can’t call for help and admit I’m lost.  ...  These guys would have been home Monday morning at the latest if using SPOT I guarantee it.

Why not just carry a regular GPS unit, generate a track on the way out, and then follow the track back in case of whiteout?

That's infinitely preferable to any SPOT or PLB in cases like this where the party is uninjured, fully capable of moving, and simply unable to navigate home. If you're going to suggest technology as a solution to their problems, why not pick the right kind?

SPOT or PLB may be great in case of injury or accident, but suggesting that they are the best technological solution in this particular case is entirely mistaken. They would have been home on Sunday as planned if they had a GPS and had run a track on the way out, and the entire SAR effort could have been avoided.

Anyway, glad they are safe and found now.

a GPS with a track back feature or stored route would have been handy.

Or, for the oldschoolers, a compass that points to 192.

Damn another excuse for the park worker individuals not to open the roads.