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Can You Hear Me Now?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the saved-by-the-bell dept.

squarefish writes "CNN has this story about a hiker stranded in South America's Andes mountains when a blizzard begins. He reaches into his backpack for his cell phone -- only to find his prepaid minutes are up. Out of nowhere, a phone company solicitor is calling on his cell phone, asking if he would like to buy more time. Is this convenient or what?"

1 of 300 comments (clear)

  1. Re:hrm. 911 (at least in the US) by SEWilco · · Score: 5, Insightful
    You're assuming he knew of the 112 emergency number. In the USA 911 is the only number which people are told about.

    I doubt he knew of local customs (assuming he's from the USA -- I don't know if BellSouth runs cell systems outside the USA). He's not very well informed.

    • He didn't know this blizzard was approaching -- or that conditions made it likely.
    • He packed brandy instead of more necessary equipment -- like cell phone batteries or something that might have helped him not become "stranded" or "lost"...or a sleeping bag.
    • He got "lost". At least we don't know if it was his fault (no GPS? no map? not watching landmarks on the way in? just went "up" and didn't know the way back to town? couldn't read the trail signs in Spanish? no guide?) or not (genetically unable to learn map reading? white-out blizzard hid landmarks? -- how did rescuers get to him, then?).
    • He thought brandy would help keep him warm.
    • He left his cell phone on after he thought it was useless, instead of making his only battery last longer in case he thought of a use for it.
    • He thought cold was charging his battery. More likely just letting it rest is what allowed it to work again for a short time.
    • He had been putting his batteries in the freezer without knowing why he should. (Because it slows the chemical reactions which discharge even an unused battery.) And in the time since he was a child he hadn't found out.
    • He chose prepaid minutes but didn't make sure he had some for the climb...and he reached for his phone because he thought it was usable.
    • He thought there was cellular coverage in the mountains.
    He certainly was more lucky than good.