Kevin Thaw’s Top 10 Tips for calling your mum from Everest’s summit
Kevin Thaw is a technical whiz on expeditions around the world. Summiting Everest is one thing, but then imagine being given the task of dealing with communications too! Considering there aren’t any phone boxes up there or internet cafe’s it’s quite a responsibility…
Chatting to your mates on top of Mount Everest is possible though, just follow these tips provided by Kevin Thaw in an interview with the timesonline.co.uk…
- Keep your mobile under your armpit or in your pocket – the cold wears the battery down faster
- Avoid hard drives in flavour of Flash memory – there’s no problem with ‘diminishing air cushions’
- Don’t breathe on touch-screens – the steam will freeze
- Use a geo-stationary, rather than an orbital, satellite – the signal is interrupted less
- Fashion a pointer so you don’t have to take your gloves off when you type
- Use POP, rather than web, e-mail – it’s ‘more seamless’
- Use AA batteries, lithium rather than alkaline. They last longer
- Create a new e-mail account, so you get less time-wasting spam
- Get an iPAC pocket PC – they’re the only ones that take all memory cards
- Use an old-fashioned car cigarette lighter adapter to connect devices to a battery pack for charging.
If you enjoyed this, then you might also enjoy the CheapTents.com in-depth interview with prolific climber Kevin Thaw.
Your thoughts…
Do you have any tips on how to look after your gear and technology when out and about? Let us know by posting your comments below...
CheapTents Outdoor Gear Blog 
Its great to go for a hike in the countryside, so you can get away from it all and leave the world behind. Then your peace is ruined when someone’s phone rings. Did-a-la-la, did-a-la-la, its the Nokia tune ring tone. Dom Jolley shouts into his oversized phone “Yeah I’m half way up a mountain, its cr@p!” It makes you feel like walking over to the person, grabbing their phone and chucking it down the mountainside.
Obviously mobile phones are here to stay and they are useful in an emergency situation. Its worth remembering though, that you can’t always rely on them. There is not always in coverage in the countryside, especially when you need it most e.g. if you’ve just fallen down a gully and broken your leg. So don’t forget your whistle.
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I think that’s great advice. Mountain whistles are one of the best bits of kit alerting people’s attention to your emergency, and at £3 pounds certainly worth adding to your shopping list!
http://www.cheaptents.com/acatalog/Product_Catalogue_Products_66.html#msw2
The other thing to remember is that good planning before any trip out into the hills, away from immediate help, can certainly make a huge difference to your safety. Make sure you tell people where you’re going (including primary and secondary routes), along with taking all the gear you need to keep yourself safe and secure in the worst conditions.
Technology is used a great deal by mountaineers, walkers and mountain bikers but nothing beats solid preparation and experience!
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Some great tips from Kevin. Wont the phones need big numbers on them so you can dail with your gloves on?
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