A bit of news...we were 10 days and 80 km into a very remote backpack trip in the Northern Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. We were undertaking the reconnaissance of the 1898 'police trail' to the Klondike. It has not been used much in recent years and there is considerable deadfall in some sections.
One member of our party sustained a repeated ankle injury and it became necessary to allow him to stand down from the last 5 days of the journey. We were able to use Iridium and the lightweight Motorola phone I carried to call a Helicopter. He was picked up one hour later. Our group was appreciative of the response and very glad that the emergency call was not for any other more urgent medical matter.
In the past two months I have demonstrated or introduced the phone to bush and helicopter pilots, park rangers, land managers, outfitters, trail guides, indian bands and recreationalists. I have accordingly distributed several pamphlets on these occassions. The phone appeals to many especially due to its light weight. The solar charger option interests several people. I have made contacts in Watson Lake, Smithers, Prince George, Fort Nelson, Whitehorse and Dawson Creek, and given out the skyhelp home page a lot.