Somewear Labs Global Hotspot satellite communication device pairs with your smartphone to give you messaging capability anywhere in the world. | Katie Lozancich photo.
Remember when you were a kid and your mom or dad got worried every time you were out raising hell with your friends and came home late? Not knowing where you were or that you were perfectly safe was a lot to ask of them. These days, a similar situation might occur if you spend a long day out in the backcountry far from cell service. Cell phones are a powerful tool, but we know all too well that finding bars out in the mountains to send a quick check-in message can be difficult. That’s where the Somewear Labs Global Hotspot satellite communicator can help offer some much-needed peace of mind for yourself and whoever you are coming home, and is exactly why all of TGR’s production crews now carry one. The device features an SOS button that will initiate a rescue to your location, and also features SMS messaging capabilities if paired with a smartphone.
Last season, that hypothetical scenario became reality when a TGR film crew was deep in the backcountry. As a safety protocol, our production teams and athletes always let someone in the office know an expected return time based on the day’s plans. That way, if sometime goes wrong, that dedicated contact person can initiate any necessary rescue operations if help is needed. On this given day, a crew of athletes including Veronica Paulsen and Jimmi Ryan went out the gates into the Jackson Hole backcountry originally intending to film in a zone that was close by. Instead, they changed plans and headed deeper into the backcountry into a zone that was a few hours of touring away. It was a straightforward and known route, with the caveat being that the new zone would be well beyond cell phone service – which is luckily actually quite rare in the Tetons.
If you're planning on coming home around the time of day when the sky looks like this, it's nice to be able to have a way to say everything is ok. | Nic Alegre photo.
After a successful day filming, the athletes and crew still had a few hours’ walk back to the resort boundary. At this point, they knew it was nearing their promised return time but had no way of calling home to check in. Meanwhile, back at HQ, TGR’s Head of Production Jon Klaczkiewicz was beginning to get worried about his overdue team, unaware of the change of plans. He attempted to call them multiple times but was unable to reach them. His lengthy experience in the mountains combined with knowing they were in consequential terrain made him realize that if something were wrong, they would almost certainly need outside help, so he began initiating a search and rescue response. Finally, just as the SAR team was getting ready to mobilize, the crew gave him a call that they were all safe and nearly home.
Olin Wimberg, one of the cinematographers out that day, recalls, "We were totally fine, having a great day filming but knew that the folks at HQ were probably stressing as the hours wore on. Having a communication tool like the Hotspot would have been such a simple way to get a short message out that we were safe and would be out shortly after dark." The nature of filming in the backcountry often requires plans to change, and checking in is crucial. "Having the SOS button is always extra peace of mind, but usually we're not dealing with emergencies that require a rescue - something as benign as having to find a lost ski or replacing a sled belt can set you back a few hours, and being able to text home and say you'll be a bit late for dinner is vital," Wimberg says.
The Global Hotspot fits in the palm of your hand and is something our TGR crews now carry every day. | Izzy Lidsky photo.
While luckily nothing happened and everybody made it home safe, this case demonstrates a prime use for a communication tool that does not need cell phone service. The Somewear Labs Global Hotspot pairs with your smartphone to give messaging capability anywhere in the world, even deep in the backcountry where cellphone service isn’t an option. Had the TGR crew carried a Hotspot with them that day, alerting HQ to their delay could have avoided unnecessarily mobilizing SAR resources. In addition, it would have given the team a way to communicate any conditions reports or changes of plans in real time. This season, all TGR teams will carry a Hotspot and follow a check-in protocol to keep things running smoothly. Communication is a powerful tool – use it!
Turn your smartphone into a satellite phone with the Somewear Labs Global Hotspot - $279
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It all began with a dream and a little cash scraped together from fishing in Alaska... Since 1995, we've been an action sports media company committed to fueling progression through our ground-breaking films (37 and counting) and online content.