High Sierra Topix

rlown wrote:you know I'm never that far away from water, Mav.. and downhill and upwind.

So I've been googling around trying to find a whistle success story and I can't find one. Go.

Besides the one that started this post?

It seems like the sternum strap whistles are anemic at best. I carry one of these http://www.sportchalet.com/product/adve ... rom=Search
on a piece of cord around my neck. That way, if I get separated from my pack, I still have it with me.

rlown wrote:So I've been googling around trying to find a whistle success story and I can't find one. Go.

How about the woman who was missing for nine days after the Sierra Club outing?

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/602 ... od-whistle

...and to answer the OP, I always have a whistle with me, one on my fishing pack, one on my small day pack and another on my backpack. Since I almost always go solo, not having one would be a dumb idea, in my opinion. A quality whistle is louder than a shout and your voice will eventually give out after a lot of shouting, injury or dehydration. A pretty basic piece of safety equipment.

Fly Guy Dave wrote:How about the woman who was missing for nine days after the Sierra Club outing?

That's hardly the best example. At one point she could hear their voices but they couldn't hear her whistle.

A PLB would be a better emergency accessory than a whistle and earplugs.

Do any of you carry a signaling mirror?

longri wrote:That's hardly the best example. At one point she could hear their voices but they couldn't hear her whistle.

Did you follow the link? The searchers didn't hear it at first, but they did later, so I beg to differ.
And yes, I carry a small mirror as well.

Fly Guy Dave wrote:

longri wrote:That's hardly the best example. At one point she could hear their voices but they couldn't hear her whistle.

Did you follow the link? The searchers didn't hear it at first, but they did later, so I beg to differ.
And yes, I carry a small mirror as well.

Yes, I read it straight off the page that was linked. She could hear distant voices but they couldn't hear her whistle. It wasn't until the next day that they heard it. So exactly how good is a whistle that is less audible than distant voices?

I have an old Scubapro whistle. I should probably carry it. It's ear piercingly loud. Sound sucks at carrying over water as well as through forest and canyon.

Oh, and I carry earplugs. I call them index fingers

Sound sucks at carrying over water as well as through forest and canyon.

and windy conditions.

longri wrote:No whistle for me. I had one of those orange whistle/buckle things on my sternum strap. But I don't like sternum straps so I removed it.

I played a part in a rescue that was initiated when I heard someone blowing their whistle. Would we have heard them screaming help instead? I'll never know since they had that whistle.

As a nearly 20 year member of a SAR team I directly participated in 2 searches where the sound of the whistle led directly to us finding the missing party. I can also confirm instances where a whistle can be heard but voices can't. Searchers often shout or call out along with blowing a whistle to elicit a response. Other search teams may hear the sounds and confirm via radio that it is another search team. Many times we will hear the whistle but not the shout even when both are done from the same location. This is particularly true if there is background noise such as running water. Whistles work.

Mirrors too. The shiny foil inner side of a Power Bar wrapper was even used to catch the eye of a searcher on Mt San Jacinto.

I carry a JetScream whistle. Super loud and weights virtually nothing.

Hi Whatmeworry,

Welcome to HST! Thank you for professional input on this subject, and the many years of service.