Comments on: Sat Phone Blogging — First Attempt

By: brian

brian — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:00:55 +0000

Hey Lou,
One interesting thing that could happen as you go really high in your ski boots on Denali is liner foam expansion. I’m not sure how much air is actually in ski boot liners but I have noticed this phenomenon with Millet climbing boots. The first time I wore them guiding on Denali they got super tight while flying in. Kind of freaked me out until I realized what was happening. I did not notice it as much with the slower ascent rate while walking up the mountain. Perhaps other readers have some experience with this. Bottom line for me would be not to start out tight.

By: Lou

Lou — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:26:13 +0000

Brenda, yes, I’ve been freezer testing stuff. Have not done enough testing with the cables yet. But I will. Did freeze the computer to zero and try to turn it on. It actually turned on but the LCD didn’t work of course. Also cooled it to 18 degrees F and it worked, and the LCD worked. But strategy with computer in cold temps is you warm it up first, then turn it on and the heat of the electronics keeps it warm enough to function. Nonetheless, I’ll be doing some stuff to make sure I’m working in a warm enough environment. For example, a well built snowcave stays at 32 degrees F and that’s plenty warm to run the computer and sat phone.

By: kilowati

kilowati — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:00:03 +0000

My in-laws rented me a sat phone before allowing their daughter to backpack with me through Wrangell St Elias. Thankfully, we didn’t need it, but we placed a call to the lower 48 just for kicks while waiting for our pilot. The call quality was close to that of my cell phone in Denver. Pretty impressive considering that was the most remote place I’ve ever been in my life.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:02:40 +0000

Lou, are you at all worried about those skinny little cables snapping in the cold? Do the cables have any sort of cold rating, or at least good quality jackets? Even inside the cook-tent, it might be pretty chilly.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:56:37 +0000

Cool – glad this is up and running – looking forward to the Denali posts.