Popular

I started this blog back in 2009, just before the 2010 Winter Olympics was on. It was rough going for a while, with strange musing, personal posts and other bad writing. Then, in the fall of 2010 I was involved in a SAR task that hit home to me; I’d been involved in SAR for a decade at that point and I had noticed that people were getting injured and dying regularly from a type of accident that didn’t get a lot of attention. I did some research, filed a few freedom of information requests, and wrote the article How to Kill Yourself Snowshoeing. This, by far, is the most popular post on this site with people reading, sharing and commenting on it regularly every winter, without fail. If I never write anything else in my life, this one post might just save someone’s life, and I will die happy.

Below is a list of other popular posts, several that I have worked particularly hard on, am proud of, and consider worth reading.

How to Kill Yourself Snowshoeing

In this post I describe a pattern of accidents in the local mountains around Vancouver, BC, discuss the underlying causes, and propose some simple solutions. Terrain, weather, gear, and travel techniques are discussed.

Smart Phones and Battery Life

How the various functions in a smart phone drain the battery at different rates.

Why you Shouldn’t Use Smart Phones for Backcountry Navigation

My article details the problem with using a less than reliable tool for backcountry navigation, and it’s implications for calling for a rescue.

Personal Locator Beacons from the Rescuer’s Perspective

A review of  a search in Southwestern BC and the difficulties tracking the output from a PLB

On Blaming the Victim

A discussion on how the public perceives the victim in a search or rescue.

Finding Someone from a Helicopter

A description of the first time I found someone from a helicopter, and some tips on how to be found.

On Coordinates

Problems of recording transmitting geographic coordinates accurately.

A Social Media Storm

An adverse effect of social media on a large muti-day wilderness search