What advice out there about two way radios? I see 12 mile pairs for 69 bucks, 8 mile $49 and REI has 5 mile pair for $25? Do they really go that far and is anyone getting a license for these? Who is buying what now? Thanks.

I bring them along for certain multipitch climbs on rock or ice. In theory you can communicate via rope signals and thus save weight by not carrying radios ... and I have done that sometimes, but for cragging these are preferable in some situations. In canyons sometimes the wind and / or echo can distort voices - same with waterfalls.

The ones I have are fairly cheap motorola T5950's w/5-mile GMRS channels, 99 subcodes, etc. The belt clips the motorolas come with are rather fragile, so I tied some webbing loops to mine w/carabiners. This way they can be clipped to my harness, climbing pack, etc.

The higher the power, the longer the line-of-sight range. The effective range though can decrease dramatically for various reasons. Google turned up some articles on the subject <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gmrs+range+&btnG=Google+Search">here</a>.

A climbing rope is typically only 60m, so the need for 5-mile range in this application is kind of silly, but theoretically it could help on a long approach

Roger that: It's probably best to leave the gadgets behind and use old-fashioned rope tugs, but walkie talkies have saved my ass numerous times and are a plus in windy conditions. (You think Simon would've used the knife if he'd known Joe's situation?)

My brother and I got lost on the lower flanks of the Matterhorn during a storm. We packed a little motorola two-mile range and were able to pick up our dad in Zermatt—probably a good 6-8 miles, straight line of sight. It was comforting to know he was there, but better, he went into one of the thousand curios stores, studied a poster of the Matterhorn and figured out from our description where we were and what directionwe needed to start down climbing. Sure, we would have eventually hit the Hornli ridge, but it was nice to have the contact during the semi-blizzard.

And leader to belayer contact is good, especially on crowded climbs. Was on Cathedral Peak during the weekend rush hour and it was really nice to whisper "on belay" amongst all the shouting and confusion. In addition, I was taking a very inexperienced climber (second climb, first multi-pitch) and he didn't have the climber lingo down at all. So it was, "on belay, okay, now you gather up all those clips and metal jobbies and put them away. Good. No I knwo it's cold but we only have a few more of these to go. Now, start climbing"...at which point I released the talk button...."you dolt." (I'm kidding, sort of.)

It's too bad they don't somehow get at least one emergency channel that could reach help. That would be comforting on solo trips. I mean, if we can go to the moon and talk to Armstrong you'd think... Of course, on second thought, that might stretch the capacity of most SAR units, what with all the false alarms and prickers in the toe calls they'd probably get. Life or death is often a matter of perception until you're dead.

Over

<a href="http://www.summitpost.org/show/mread.pl?f_id=27&t_id=6238&page=1">Old thread</a>

You think Joe could have worked a radio with frozen mitts?

Wattage is the biggest thing you want to look at for your radio. The manufacturer will say that it'll reach out to 10 miles but it might only have 2 watts of power. It may reach out to 10 miles but that would only happen with brand new batteries and on completely flat terrain with 65 degree weather and no humidity. When you get into rough, broken terrain and crappy weather it'll drop real fast.
I'm sure someone will say something about how they got 8 miles on a .5 watt radio and that can happen but chances are it was because they were up in a Fresnel zone for the signal or just luck. Most of the time those wattage radios will only go maybe one-two miles at most.
I believe the max wattage allowed in the US is either 4 or 5 watts, so if you can find one with that then go for it. Higher wattages require FCC licenses so you'd be limited to that.
Hope that helps.

Red

I use FRS radios in the field with my students (I often have 15 to 18 people spread over several hundred acres). They work fairly well - every once in a while, a hill will affect the ability to receive. We have the 5 mile kind. However, it has saved me a lot of walking and everyone hears all the questions and the answers - so it supports my teaching. There is also the safety factor - both for me (since I am traveling alone between student crews) and for the students (to call me in case of trouble). We work in areas with bear, moose and cougar and the terrain is steep enough where a fall is possible..

I have never gotten a license and don't plan to.

We also monitor channel 9 at the ski area where I patrol. Guests can call in problems on it and have. There are places where the regular radios won't kick the repeater but where the FRS seem to work okay. The use of FRS is very popular at ski areas.

For climbing I can see some uses: while traveling in and out of camp with a larger group that may have different travel rates and when climbing where it's hard to communicate and something comes up that rope tugs won't be able to explain. Anything you have should be tied on and in a spot that's easily reachable, given that you'll need one hand to work the thing.

However, I never want to rely solely on technology - be it radios or GPS, so traditional methods of communication and safe travel practices should always be practiced.

2 words that changed my outlook on walky-talkies:

smoke signals


Sorry. If you're going to be doing some climbing with them, get 'em cheap as they have a tendency to drop IMHO. License? Naaaah.

I think Simon would have cut the rope had he known Joe's position.

We carry them in our SAR/Mountain Rescue Group if there is a chance of incliment weather. We use them for navigating in near whiteout conditions. One person takes a bearing, the other starts walking along it. The first person can guide them with the radio to stay on course. When the walker is almost out of visual sight range, they stop, first person catches up, and you reshoot the bearing and start again. Thats how we use them. Other than that, we don't carry them unless we have to. And I would say there is no need for anything farther than 5 mile range.