FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

(Note to Editors:  On December 31st, 2006, 48-year-old climber, Bill Egger, became stuck on the edge of a rock base in the backcountry of Big Bend National Park and used a Personal Locator Beacon to summon help. Below is his first-person account as told to Leslie Sheffield. This incident marks the first PLB rescue in the 801,163-acre Big Bend National Park. Lance Mattson, Big Bend coordinator of emergency services, was pleased with the outcome. “If all the rescues worked this way, I’d be happy. From our aspect, we have a huge search area and without an emergency beacon we wouldn’t have known he was out there in trouble,” he said. For Egger’s contact information, please reach Sheffield at 954-970-3394 or prseitz2@bellsouth.net.)

Stranded Backpacker Saved by Beacon

By Bill Egger, San Antonio, Texas
 

I have always been a cautious, risk-averse outdoorsman. As an Eagle Scout, I was taught to “Be Prepared” and to always have a “Buddy.” Trying to “Be Prepared” usually seems easier than finding a “Buddy” – particularly when coordinating the hectic schedules of two ore more fellow backpackers. In the back of my mind, I have periodic concerns that most of my treks seem to be solo hikes out of cell phone range and off the beaten path – and if something happens to me, the outcome may be grim. My family tells me their concerns are not just periodic – they are always worried until they receive my phone call at the end of each solo trip.
 

Beginning in 2005, I began searching for ideal solo backpacker emergency solutions. A whistle, a signal mirror, flares, rescue markers, a space blanket – they are all at the top of the list, and I believe essential for their own unique purpose. Something new to me, though, was the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). The PLB seemed to possibly be the perfect answer to my question. “What if I am so far away from civilization that there is no one to receive the signal of my whistle, mirror or flare? What if I am in such bad shape that I can’t blow the whistle, flash the mirror or fire the flare?

A January 2006 mountain lion encounter drove home to me the need for something that truly could “call for help,” and reach beyond traditional emergency signaling. After spending over a year contemplating its purchase – I made the crucial decision in September 2006 to buy an ACR Electronics’ PLB. That decision saved my life on New Year’s Eve 2006.

I was on a day hike as part of a three-day trek in Big Bend National Park, Texas, one of the largest and most remote of America’s national parks. While climbing 5,249-foot Elephant Tusk, I got “cliffed out” on an interior ramp at 4,860 feet near the summit, and could not climb down. 

After spending four hours unsuccessfully attempting to locate an alternate descent route, I knew I was stuck and realized that it could be a long time before I saw anyone else in this desolate corner of the Chihuahuan desert. As the sun disappeared, I knew temperatures would soon drop around freezing. I concluded that my condition was grave, and my life was in imminent danger unless I received assistance. Thus, I decided I must activate my ACR AeroFix™ 406 GPS Interface/Onboard PLB.

What I did not expect was that a 50 plus mph gale would blow in at 10 p.m. and continue until 4 a.m. When the gale hit, I used some cord to tie my PLB to a small bush on a ledge that opened to the sky because I was concerned that the winds would blow the PLB off of the ledge. Then, I wrapped up in my space blanket, and hunkered down for a bone-chilling night that seemed would never end. Temperatures dropped into the 20s. Twice during the night, I saw the bright light at the end of the tunnel but I mustered the strength, through some real serious prayer to remain on this end of the tunnel.

Later, I learned that within an hour after I activated my PLB, the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) in Langley, Virginia, received notice of my satellite-detectable distress signal and communicated my location to the Big Bend park rangers.

Upon receiving the call from the AFRCC, park rangers traveled almost two hours over backcountry roads to the Elephant Tusk area. Rangers found my vehicle registered with a solo hiker permit on Black Gap Road, and immediately commenced a ground search. They scoured the desert floor until 4:00 a.m. At sunrise the next morning, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) joined the search with its search and rescue helicopter.

Around 10:30 a.m., the aircrew spotted me waving my space blanket, up on the ramp near the Elephant Tusk summit. Then, two park rangers climbed up the peak, confirmed that I was fatigued, but uninjured and called in climbing gear from the DPS helicopter. By mid-afternoon they helped me rappel down from my perch. Six park rangers and I then trekked five miles arriving at Black Gap Road around sundown.

Other than being exhausted by the night’s hypothermic conditions, I was assessed to be good condition. The PLB definitely helped save my life. I’m afraid that if I had to spend another night up there, I would not have made it.

My encounter with the mountain lion in the Chisos Mountains was a major impetus in purchasing the ACR PLB. I was literally a split second from being attacked before I saw the mountain lion and scared it away. If I had been attacked, it is very possibly that I would have been severely incapacitated. To continue my treks into the wilderness, I felt like I had to get a PLB. Thus, I acquired my PLB just before an October 2006 solo trek through the Aldo Leopold Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico, and I carried it throughout that journey. I chose the ACR PLB based on the on-line source “Equipped to Survive.”

The next time I venture on a backcountry trek, I will try much harder to find a “Buddy” to go with me. But either way, I can assure you I will be wearing my PLB. I’m all for these devices. They save lives and keep people from dying. My ACR PLB will always be on my body when I’m in the wilderness.

About ACR Electronics . . .

A PLB is a satellite-signaling device of last resort, for use when all other means of self-rescue have been exhausted and where the situation is deemed to be grave and imminent, and the loss of life, limb, eyesight or valuable property will occur without assistance. All beacons must be registered following purchase. Simply go online to www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov.

ACR Electronics, Inc., part of Cobham’s Avionics and Surveillance Division, designs and manufactures a complete line of safety and survival products including EPIRBs, PLBs, AIS, SARTs and safety accessories. The quality systems of this facility have been registered by UL to the ISO 9001:2000 Series Standards.  Recognized as the world leader in safety and survival technologies, ACR has provided safety equipment to the aviation and marine industries as well as to the military since 1956.