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Oplopanax Horridus

Oplopanax Horridus

A veteran SAR volunteer's experiences in British Columbia

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Category: Blog Entry

Regular blog posts

Cell phones and GPS

By Michael Coyle Posted on 26/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with backcountry, cell phone, communications, GPS, PLB, smart phone, technology
Cell phones and GPS

Some recent news reports contain conflicting information on Cell phones and GPS reliability for SAR use, I attempt to clarify

Projects in Provincial Parks

By Michael Coyle Posted on 23/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with garibaldi park, opinion, park
Projects in Provincial Parks

I’d like to preface this post by saying I’m not against either of the following projects, neither am I a proponent. I do however have some observations. Recently two projects have reached the”public input” stage. A Gondola! The first is …

Projects in Provincial Parks Read more »

The Fox 40 whistle and bird calls

By Michael Coyle Posted on 21/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with fauna, geek, safety, SAR
The Fox 40 whistle and bird calls

SAR uses whistle blasts to help find missing people in the bush, but there’s a bird that sounds just like a Fox 40 whistle.

Satellite Phones and 911

By Michael Coyle Posted on 19/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with communications, emergency, rescue, satellite, tech, technology

Satellite Phones may not have 911 capability; users should know what number to call for rescue

Garibaldi Park Management Plan Amendment

By Michael Coyle Posted on 14/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with garibaldi park

The government is going to modify the Garibaldi Park Management plan again. The plan is what sets the direction fo what’s allowed and not allowed in the park, and this change is specific to the area around Whistler/Blackcomb. The public’s …

Garibaldi Park Management Plan Amendment Read more »

Discrepancy between Whistler and CAC avalanche reports

By Michael Coyle Posted on 10/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with avalanche, hazard, question, snow

The author wonders why there’s a discrepancy between the avalanche bulletin written by the CAC and Whistler/Blackcomb.

A New Venture

By Michael Coyle Posted on 04/03/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with GIS, mapping, maps, TrueNorth
A New Venture
Screenshot of TrueNorth showing offline vector data

I’d like to formally announce my new venture: mapping software for backcountry enthusiasts and professionals: TrueNorth Geospatial

Foot Identified

By Michael Coyle Posted on 17/02/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with grim, search

The BC Coroner’s service has identified the foot found in Sasamat lake as belonging to a person that Coquitlam SAR searched for 25 years ago.

Hazard, Risk and Consequences

By Michael Coyle Posted on 06/02/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with hazard, risk, SAR

Some musings on the differences between hazard, risk and consequences as they relate to risk management in search and rescue.

Google Public Alerts

By Michael Coyle Posted on 30/01/2012 Posted in Blog Entry Tagged with safety, social media, technology

Some comments about the recently announced Google Public Alerts system.

Posts pagination

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