If you get lost on a mountain in the Western Cape, a simple cellphone message or tweet could help you find your way back.
|||Cape Town - If you get lost on a mountain in the Western Cape, a simple cellphone message or tweet could help you find your way back.
Two skilled mountain users, one of them a Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) member, have set up a tracking system to monitor hikers and other mountain users via cellphone and Twitter.
On Wednesday Anwaaz Bent, WSAR member and convener of a group named Hikers Network, said a number of hiking groups had been making use of the system.
Bent said he had worked on the idea of tracking mountain users via cellphones to boost their safety and Tim Lundy, the son of hiking book author Mike Lundy, had agreed to work with him.
Mountain users who were on Twitter could tweet Bent, under the handle @SafetyMountain, and Lundy, @hikingcapetown, about where they planned to hike, their starting point and time and progress made.
The messaging service Whatsapp could also be used to keep in touch with Lundy.
Bent explained that hikers who felt unsure of their way could take a photograph of the scene on their cellphone and send it to Lundy.
He and Lundy could then work out where the hiker was and give advice aboutthe safest path to take.
At the moment nearly 600 people were following the @SafetyMountain account. He planned to approach authorities in the hope that someone could be stationed at a control centre to track users.
About a month ago a follower had tweeted @SafetyMountain about hearing a woman screaming. It was found that a woman was stuck on a ledge on Table Mountain and she was airlifted to safety.
Bent may be contacted on @SafetyMountain and Lundy on @hikingcapetown or 083 444 5267(cor).
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za
Cape Times