From Stowe Mountain Rescue, via Compass Vermont

We went after another lost skier off the Toll Road last night. Another case of following sweet-looking tracks without paying heed to destination or daylight hours.

Our subject endeared himself to us by

1/ His very humble ask for help “only if you’re not too busy” and his willingness to put his hand up and admit his error – following tracks late in the day and entering the sidecountry unequipped.

2/ How calm and coachable he was in those cold, dark woods – he managed to download a compass app and we mapped his location and told him how to follow a bearing so he could work on closing the distance to where we would intercept him.

3/ He promised to name his first-born daughter after our team member who escorted him out of the woods. Well, that’s a first! No guarantee that he’ll follow through with it, but it’s a measure of his gratitude.

If you’ve never played with the compass app on your phone, you should pull it up and take a look. It will give your current coordinates and elevation – vital info to pass on to your rescuers. A screenshot is a good way to accurately convey that information, assuming you have cell service.

Sometimes the simplest way to capture your location in an emergency is to place a 911 call – last night we asked our subject to do exactly that as we tried to hone in on him.

Practice walking along a bearing before your safety depends on it. Be aware that your app is only available as long as you have battery. Our subject last night was hitting 15% by the time we got to him – that’s a very small margin on a cold dark night. A battery bank makes a great stocking stuffer, as does a compass…