Picture this: You are leading a basic climb on the Temple in the Enchantments when a large rock falls and glances off a basic student badly breaking his leg and leaving him unable to hike out. The MOFA leader knows that it will take 6-8 hours for someone to return to the trailhead. Cell phone coverage in the area is almost non-existent. A helicopter rescue is at best 12 hours away. Fortunately, the climb leader has a personal Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and activates it shortly after the accident. Instead of having to wait a day for help, a helicopter soon lands nearby and evacuates the patient.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that beginning in July 2003 it will permit individuals to use ELTs. These devices, now used on boats and planes, transmit a distress signal to satellites monitored by NOAA. The signal activates a rescue operation. For the past few years they have been available in Alaska for personal use. Now they will be available throughout the country for hikers, climbers and other outdoor adventurers. Should they become a mandatory item on climbs? Under what circumstances should the device be activated? Which brand of device should be used? Should the climbing community take a position about the use and/or potential abuse of this device? These and other questions remain to be addressed.