5 ms·

That reminds me of the sad story of CNet editor James Kim. He got caught in a snow storm with his family. He left the car and died trying to get help. His famil

That reminds me of the sad story of CNet editor James Kim. He got caught in a snow storm with his family. He left the car and died trying to get help. His family was rescued in good condition. Had he stayed with them, they all would have survived. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1028_3-6141498.html http://news.cnet.com/2100-1028_3-6141498.html

rdl 14y ago
The "family gets lost, guy goes off to find help, gets even more lost and dies, and then the rest of the family is rescued" is a pretty standard story.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
raverbashing 14y ago
Today, in the age of gps enabled cell phones there is no reason to leave the car (unless there's a risk of explosion, car sliding off a cliff, etc, etc) Get your position, call 911, wait. If the signal is not good enough to make a call, send an SMS
- DanBC 14y ago
  What if the signal isn't good enough to send an SMS? I'd tend to agree that staying with the car is sensible. Maybe with some bright orange tarpaulin / flag thing over the car (although that'd probably get buried in snow.) At least if you're travelling in really bad weather you know you might get stuck and so you should prepare. People in England were caught out when light snow was forecast; they left work early and joined the M25 at the same time as the road gritters, which caused a weird cascade effect and blocked a major motorway in the UK for 24 hours when there was only 1 or 2 cm of snow.
  - raverbashing 14y ago
    Then write your SMS, try sending it and try exploring different positions (maybe try exiting the car, or even climb it). Just don't wander away from it. In my experience, the phone will retry sending the SMS a couple of times if the signal is low.
    - SoftwareMaven 14y ago
      When I go riding around central Utah on my motorcycle (note: these are paved roads with a street motorcycle), I'm often out of cell coverage for hours at a time. The reality is that the high mountains and deep valleys for "real" mountains, combined with the lack of towns, provide for no coverage, either SMS or cell. If I got caught in those places in snow that is feet-deep, I wouldn't expect my electronics to free me.
      - raverbashing 14y ago
        Yes, there are huge areas without cell coverage Still, having a gps is helpful (at least you know where you are and can wander but knows how to get back) Having an automotive gps with maps is even more helpful But yeah, it is a very bad situation nonetheless
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- philwelch 14y ago
  If you have any cellular reception at all, you're generally not lost or stuck in the wilderness and at risk of freezing to death.
  - tnorthcutt 14y ago
    I don't think that's right. I've been places in Colorado miles from "help" and still had cell reception.
    - MichaelApproved 14y ago
      The metric "miles" isn't as useful as the time it takes for that help to actually arrive.

rdl 14y ago

The "family gets lost, guy goes off to find help, gets even more lost and dies, and then the rest of the family is rescued" is a pretty standard story.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

raverbashing 14y ago

Today, in the age of gps enabled cell phones there is no reason to leave the car (unless there's a risk of explosion, car sliding off a cliff, etc, etc) Get your position, call 911, wait. If the signal is not good enough to make a call, send an SMS

DanBC 14y ago
What if the signal isn't good enough to send an SMS? I'd tend to agree that staying with the car is sensible. Maybe with some bright orange tarpaulin / flag thing over the car (although that'd probably get buried in snow.) At least if you're travelling in really bad weather you know you might get stuck and so you should prepare. People in England were caught out when light snow was forecast; they left work early and joined the M25 at the same time as the road gritters, which caused a weird cascade effect and blocked a major motorway in the UK for 24 hours when there was only 1 or 2 cm of snow.
- raverbashing 14y ago
  Then write your SMS, try sending it and try exploring different positions (maybe try exiting the car, or even climb it). Just don't wander away from it. In my experience, the phone will retry sending the SMS a couple of times if the signal is low.
  - SoftwareMaven 14y ago
    When I go riding around central Utah on my motorcycle (note: these are paved roads with a street motorcycle), I'm often out of cell coverage for hours at a time. The reality is that the high mountains and deep valleys for "real" mountains, combined with the lack of towns, provide for no coverage, either SMS or cell. If I got caught in those places in snow that is feet-deep, I wouldn't expect my electronics to free me.
    - raverbashing 14y ago
      Yes, there are huge areas without cell coverage Still, having a gps is helpful (at least you know where you are and can wander but knows how to get back) Having an automotive gps with maps is even more helpful But yeah, it is a very bad situation nonetheless
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
philwelch 14y ago
If you have any cellular reception at all, you're generally not lost or stuck in the wilderness and at risk of freezing to death.
- tnorthcutt 14y ago
  I don't think that's right. I've been places in Colorado miles from "help" and still had cell reception.
  - MichaelApproved 14y ago
    The metric "miles" isn't as useful as the time it takes for that help to actually arrive.