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"The Gear Freak" - another Yeti interview with Dr Telemark
DrT: I thought I would do a bit of trekking in Mustang which is on the border of Tibet and Nepal, it's winter over there at the moment which means that there are less tourists around and the trekking is just that little bit more challenging.
Y: Don’t you ever do an easy walk?
DrT: Nah, couldn’t be bothered, life's too short to do easy walks.
Y: OK, well I’ve heard that you’ve invested in a new toy.
DrT: Yep, got a GPS and EPIRB for Xmas, had to buy them myself though because all my mates are bushwalkers and you know how tight they are with their money.
Y: Tell me about it!
Y: I've heard of a GPS but what’s this EPIRB thing?
DrT: EPIRB stands for Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon.
Y: What a mouthful, what’s it do?
DrT: It's an emergency distress beacon that when activated sends a signal to a orbiting satellite which then alerts authorities that you are in trouble. Signals can also be picked up by overflying aircraft who report any signal they pick up to a ground station. The signal from the satellite is then analysed and your approximate position is then known by the authorities who then initiate a search, usually by air. Apparently in SE Aust the average time for detection is one hour.
Y: Could be useful if you were lost?
DrT: Well I reckon you would have to have a bloody good reason to set it off, because if it turned out not to be a real emergency and a major search was initiated, I would suggest that you wouldn’t be all that popular with the majority of the public, the media would be suggesting that you should pay for the cost of the search and that all walkers should have insurance for that sort of thing, and we wouldn't want that would we?
Y: In what sort of situation would you use it then?
DrT: It would have to be a real life or death emergency, you know, leg bitten off by a crocodile or multiple bites by a tiger snake, a real life threatening situation.
Y: On what sort of trip would you carry one?
DrT: In remote country, somewhere like the Big Desert or South West Tasmania, where help is a long way away. It's a bit of overkill in the Botanic Gardens as help is just around the corner, besides there are no crocs at the gardens, not that I’m aware of anyway.
Y:Are they heavy and how much do they cost?
DrT:This one weighs about 175g and is quite small, you can fit it in a pocket, I paid $269 for mine - they're cheaper from a marine rather than an outdoor equipment shop.
Y: Bit expensive?
DrT: You tight arse! liberate some of those moths from your wallet and spend some money once in a while, look at it this way, If you are in real trouble I think it would be money well spent.
Y: You are getting to be a bit of a gear freak of late, what with the GPS, EPIRB, altimeter, heart rate monitor, palm top computer, mobile phone, and what other technological wonders have you got,
Dr T: Me, a gear freak! get off my back, I’m not a gear freak, I’m just keeping up with technology, its no use living in the dark ages, you’ve got to move with the times or you will be left behind.
Y: like I said, a gear freak.
Dr T: Lets change the subject, I hear that you are out of a job after this issue?
Y: Yer, the editors packed it in, he say’s that its all too hard.
DrT: What, life?
Y: No! being the editor, he reckons its too much work for too little reward, he’s still waiting for the cheque for issue number one. And something about having a adverse effect on his budding rogaining career.
DrT: What, him navigate! I still remember the winter trip to the Main Range where he stuffed up so badly that they walked about 5km from where they should have been and had no idea where they were.
Y: Yer, I remember that one, It would have been a good time to be carrying an EPIRB.
DrT: Yes, wilderness trips can be potentially dangerous at times. I tell you what, I’ve got this trip coming up to Baffin Island in northern Canada, we could test the GPS, you interested ?
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