How to make a backcountry 911 call
This tip was written with expert advice from Steve Rollins, a long time member of Portland Mountain Rescue
Write down key information BEFORE you make the call.
State your location first.
If your battery is low and/or you have a poor cell signal, texting key info to your trusted contacts might be better.
You, someone in your group, or someone you come across, has a serious injury in the backcountry.
You're fortunate enough to have cell phone service, or possibly can text with a satellite communication (satcom) device such as a Zoleo or Garmin InReach. (In this example we’re talking about using a phone primarily, but the pretty much same advice applies to using a satcom device. This article is also geared toward the United States; different countries of course have different emergency response systems.)
Note: Calling 911 is usually the first choice. If you’re using a satellite communication device that can only text, be aware that many 911 call centers, as of this writing in 2018, CANNOT receive text messages. If you have a satcom device that can only text, it's better to text your in-town emergency contact person, and have them forward the information to 911. But using a phone to directly call 911, if possible, is always the first choice.
However… if you have a weak battery and weak to minimal cell signal, sending a text to a trusted contact or 911 might be a better choice than a voice call. You might get lucky and 911 gets your text, but more likely your contact people will get it and transmit the information.
Before you grab your phone and dial 911 in a panic (or text your at-home emergency contact person), take a few deep breaths, get a pencil and paper, and write down some important information that Search and Rescue (SAR) will probably need. Note that 911 will probably not ask you for all of this information; you’ll need to volunteer some of it.
Keep a pencil stub and a few small sheets of tyvek paper, free from a cut up repurposed Priority Mail envelope, in your first aid kit for this very purpose.
If you have a few different people on your team, do a phone inventory before you make the call. See who has the strongest cell signal and battery level. Different cell phone carriers can have different signal strength in the mountains. You don’t have to use your own phone if a better battery and a stronger signal comes from someone else.
Be patient. The 911 operator is used to dealing with urban emergencies and may not initially understand that you are calling from the backcountry. They also are probably not familiar with things like UTM coordinates nor things like “I’m at the Hogsback on Mt Hood.” Be patient. Don’t get frustrated. They want to help you. Explain your situation, have them repeat back everything, and tell them to transmit the information to county SAR; more on that below.
One more tip - If you call 911, you are most likely going to initiate a rescue. Do not call 911 for a “We’re okay, but running late” type of call. That is a non-emergency, and should go to your contact person in town, not 911.
If your phone is cold or you have a weak signal, try to transmit the most critical information first. That's going to be 1) your location and a 2) description of the accident. If your phone cuts out in the middle of the call, hopefully you had time to share the important stuff first.
A boiled down way to think of it is this: Transmit the “where, who, what” information, ideally in that order. Where, general location, route, exact GPS coordinates if you have them. Who, your name and call back number. What, describe the accident, number of patients, and overall seriousness.
Tell the 911 operator, “I am calling from a wilderness location and I do NOT have a street address.” (This hopefully gives them a heads-up that this isn’t a standard urban 911 call.)
Tell the 911 operator, “I’m going to give you some information that you normally do not need or ask for. I want you to relay ALL of it to county Search and Rescue.” (911 call centers have a protocol for urban emergencies that they usually follow, and this gives them notification that they need to record more than usual.)
Exact location of the accident. If you're at a well-known spot like a trail head, campground, or climbing route, start with that. If not, provide GPS coordinates. Try to use latitude longitude decimal degree format. Example: 45.1234, -122.1234. Providing coordinates in another format, such as latitude longitude degrees, minutes, seconds or UTM, is acceptable, but many 911 call centers may not be familiar with this format, so use decimal degree format if possible to reduce the chance of error. (It’s easiest to transmit decimal degree coordinates by voice, because they don’t have tricky extra things like zones, eastings, northings, single quotes, double quotes, and degree symbols.) It's best to start off with your location. If your phone battery dies or drops cell coverage during the call, at least 911 knows where you are.
Side note: You should always know how to get your coordinates from your phone, here's a tip how to do this. Having a phone app designed to do this is a fine idea, like my favorite “My GPS Coordinates” for the iPhone.
If you’re giving UTM coordinates, tell the operator, “I'm going to give you coordinates of our current position. You may not be familiar with them, but write them down exactly as I say, repeat them back to me when I'm done, and pass them onto SAR.” Once SAR gets the coordinates, they will know what to do with them, no matter what format they are in. But if you have a choice, decimal degree format is better.
A verbal description of terrain, map location, or climbing route. “We are at the base of the Hogsback on Mt. Hood”. The 911 operator will probably not know what this means, but SAR will. Give this in addition to your GPS coordinates. If the coordinates get messed up somehow, the verbal description is a backup.
The caller’s name and phone number, and your call back number, or perhaps two. If it’s not your phone, write these number(s) down before you call.
List of injuries, most serious first.
Patient name, age and gender.
The time of the accident.
The local weather conditions.
Number of people in your group.
Your plan for treatment. Stay put and wait for help, or maybe start moving to a specific location. Generally, once SAR knows where you are, even if you’re mobile, they want you to stay put.
A request for what form of help you think you need, such as litter, sled or helicopter. Note that the decision for this is not yours to make, it's up to the SAR team. If you have a very serious injury and think you need a helicopter, you can make this known, but it's no guarantee you're going to get one.
What county you’re in, if known. SAR is typically coordinated by the county sheriff. If you make a 911 call from a wilderness location, depending on the cell towers you reach, the 911 call might go to a county that’s not the one you’re in. The operator may transfer you to the correct county, let them make this decision.
Patient’s emergency contact person and phone number.
Ask the 911 operator to REPEAT this information back to you.
More info . . .
Here's what will probably happen after you make the 911 call. The 911 call center will forward your information to the county sheriff search and rescue (SAR) coordinator. If you’re in a mountain environment, that SAR coordinator will probably contact the local mountain rescue team; hopefully there’s one in your area.
Either the SAR coordinator and/or the mountain rescue team may call or text you directly for additional information. After your initial 911 call, keep your phone warm in an inside pocket, available and charged. Don’t tie up your phone or use battery by texting or calling anyone else right after you make the initial call. SAR may want to know patient vital signs, weather conditions, altitude, wind direction and speed, and approximate snow conditions. This can dictate what equipment they need to bring and how to reach you most effectively. This may sound obvious, but if you get a call from a number you don't recognize, answer it! It may be SAR calling you.
Regarding battery life, a detailed text message uses a small amount of data compared to a voice message, and can transmit using a much weaker signal. If you have a weak cell signal, a text might make it out when a voice call will not. Compose a text to some trusted contacts. Don't use images or attachments. When you’ve composed your text, turn off airplane mode, hit send, and hope that your message gets out. Check after about five minutes to see if your text went out. If you didn't, moving to a higher location with less tree cover might help you get a better signal. Remember to turn airplane mode back on after you send it to save battery.
Consider monitoring your phone on the hour for 10 minutes to save phone battery; eg 11:00 to 11:10. (Hopefully you brought an auxiliary phone battery and a charging cable, the 11th essential.)
Avoid non-crucial texting and stay off social media. Sometimes easier said than done. There's been cases of someone trying to carefully conserve their phone battery, but turned their phone on and discovered loads of text messages and social media messages from concerned friends, which killed their battery. If you do get a pile of texts, try to not respond to them and save your battery for communication with rescue teams.
Giving your correct coordinates is extremely important. Write them down. Take time to get it right. Newer smartphones can access a greater number of satellites, such as the European Union and Russian satellite constellations, in addition to the United States satellites. This generally can give you a faster lock and more accurate position. This can become more important if you are in a deeper canyon or under heavy tree cover. So, if someone in your group has a newer phone, you might want to use theirs. Good news for climbers, being high up on the side of a mountain is going to give you about the best possible satellite reception. Again, try to give coordinates in latitude longitude, decimal degree format.
Be aware that a rescue can take a L O N G time. (At least that’s what it seems like when you’re waiting for one.) This is not the French Alps, when the Chamonix rescue helicopter can be on the scene in 20 minutes. There may be many people and resources that need to be mobilized. Sit tight and get comfortable, you're probably going to be there for a long time. So that means after you've stabilized your patient, you need to focus on making them and everyone else as warm and comfortable as possible. This may mean putting insulating pads, sleeping bags and warm clothing underneath the injured person, putting other clothing along their sides, and possibly wrapping them up mummy style in a tent or tarp, if you have one.