Mammut recently replaced my failed Barryvox Beacon — no word yet on what was wrong with the one I sent back. Enclosed with my new beacon was an extensive diagnostic checklist. All passed of course, but what would one expect of a new unit? If I get the diagnostics from the broken one I’ll blog here.
Meanwhile, the electronic locator market is alive and well in other areas of life. Check out the Loc8tor (defunct link removed 2015). The concepts this unit uses are cool, and the claims it makes for performance are incredible: Finds items up to 600 feet away, guides to within one inch, knows what it’s searching for (per a pre-registered name). Makes our avalanche beacons look like stone age clubs? And it’s only $100.00, though from the looks of their website it might be vaporware. We might get one just to play around with and see what other’s are doing with locator tech (unit as advertised is obviously not for backcountry skiing, but the ideas are there.)
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
