App helps save Galway climbers’ lives

Members of the Galway Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) used a ground-breaking new smartphone application to rescue three climbers who got into difficulty on a Connemara mountain last weekend.

Rescuers were able to pinpoint the location of the three mountaineers using the mobile phone application after they lost their bearings in the Maumturk Mountains shortly before 11pm last Sunday night.

The app allowed the rescuers from Galway to determine the exact location of the climbers and bring them to safety with the use of powerful search lights.

Gardai alerted the members of the Galway MRT after the three climbers benighted on rough terrain near Loch Mam Ochoige.

Using the SarLoc application, the MRT members were able to determine exactly where the climbers were on the map – they urged them to stay in the same place until the rescuers arrived.

By sending a simple text message which included a web link to one of the missing climbers’ phones, the rescuers were able determine exactly where they were with a margin of error of just 100 metres.

“It can take a tremendous effort to determine the exact location of a missing mountaineer, especially late at night,” said Alan Carr of the Galway Mountain Rescue Team.

“This ground-breaking phone app eliminates hours of searching, increases our efficiency, and reduces response times. The climbers did the right thing. They contacted us and then stayed in the same place until we arrived.”

SarLoc was developed by a veteran mountain rescuer in the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, Ross Hore, who has made it available to rescue teams across Britain and Ireland.

When a person is lost, stranded, or injured in the mountains, they can use their mobile phone to call for help. The rescuers then send a text message with a special link.

Once the person clicks on the link, activating the GPS in their phone, the rescuers can determine exactly where they are on an electronic map.

The person involved has to have mobile phone coverage, which is not always available in the Connemara mountains, and a smartphone.

Mr Carr said it was important to stress that people should never go mountaineering without a compass and paper map. He said GPS enabled devices were no substitute for navigation and survival skills.

“We would have to stress that it is not ok to just go out with a smartphone and rely on this app for safety,” he said.

“In this case, we managed to reach these people, determine a safe route, and bring them to safety by 3am. They were not hurt and we were able to bring them back to their cars.”