Pretty good article… hits a lot of the points that have been hashed out quite a bit on BPL.
That is a very high rate of false alarms.
Makes one wonder how many of the "true emergencies" were also preventable with common sense, the example of Kate Matrosova being one such; although it was used to illustrate the occasional unreliability of technology, the overwhelming (and real) issue in her unfortunate demise was actually poor decision-making. No experienced hiker/backpacker in his/her right mind would have been up there in the conditions in which she arrogantly persisted.
It also goes to show how easily facts can be cherry-picked to make one thing look like another. Not saying that was the author's intent, although it was the result. Perhaps it was vastly oversimplified for editorial reasons — for brevity to make that one point, maybe?
Wide open to debate, of course, is where is the line between easily preventable/forseeable and something that wouldn't be anticipated by an experienced backpacker?
But the guy who thought he saw a wolf? That is just stoopid-funny.
All MVHO of course.
