Mountaineer credits SPOT with rescue from the Ojos del Salado Volcano

As a naturalist and landscape photographer, Francesco de Marco often travels from his base in Italy to parts of the world with no mobile phone reception. He bought a SPOT Gen3 in 2016 after doing thorough research and reading reviews. Now, when he arrives somewhere for a shoot, he makes a point of sending a check-in message to the folks back home to say he is OK. His family and friends follow his travels as his faithful SPOT tracks his movements.

Dr. Simon Young has relied on SPOT Gen3 for several years, and his device is always on hand when he heads out on his own on Munro-bagging trips in Scotland. Adventuring solo is in the family genes; Simon first came across SPOT when his son used one during a solo bike trip from Bishkek to Ulaanbaatar. Its small size and weight, reliability and global coverage, made it a no-brainer.

In possibly the world’s most extreme pub crawl, Kjell-Harald Myrseth and a friend set off on a 500km trek using skis, sleds and dogs to Alta, Norway. Inside the Arctic Circle in midwinter, they faced 21 hours a day of darkness and well-below-freezing cold during the month-long journey.

A keen hang and paraglider since 1983, Markus Huber bought his SPOT Gen3 for a trip to Australia in 2016. A Swiss national now living in Silicon Valley, Markus goes paragliding in Switzerland, Greece and France as well as California, generally in areas with poor mobile phone coverage.

In 2017, Vicente Sutil, a professional big mountain skier, and two friends planned to ski down Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. The aim was to hike up to the summit at 4,800 meters then spend a day skiing down to Chamonix at the base.

Ivan Satrapa enjoys taking his enduro motorbike off-road around the globe. Naturally he always takes his SPOT Gen3 and so, whether it is Bolivia, Argentina, Albania or Morocco, his wife Michaela can track his journey. She also knows to expect a check-in message every evening.

Philipp Pauli is an experienced climber, so much so that he’s about to become a tour guide with the Swiss Alpine Club.

Although he always takes his smartphone with him on climbing trips, there simply isn’t adequate reception across the Swiss Alps, where he spends a great deal of his time. So Philipp bought a SPOT Gen3 early in the summer of 2017 to cover all his communications needs while off grid in the mountains.

Claire Leenen is a born adventurer. With just a backpack, she hiked North America’s famous 2,650 mile (4,265 kilometer) Pacific Crest Trail in 2015 and is tackling the 1500km Via Dinarica across Eastern Europe in summer 2016. She always takes her SPOT tracker with her to keep in touch with family and supporters back home in the Netherlands.

While on a seven day hiking trip in Tasmania, Australia, Han Strating and his girlfriend were near New Pelion when they came across another hiker experiencing heart problems. Realizing the man was in need of serious medical attention; Han quickly pulled out his SPOT GEN3® and pressed the SOS button. Luckily, there was a nurse with the individual who was already providing first aid to keep him stable while they waited for help.

Matt Oliver and four friends picked a beautiful day for snowmobiling in Steamboat Springs, CO. They set off on their ride around 10 AM and traveled a familiar route. A few hours into their ride, they decided to take a different path back to their vehicles. The new path led them to a creek ravine and they realized they were getting into dangerous avalanche terrain. They began strategizing the best way out.

François and Chantal Hersen are keen glider pilots. Living in France, they have travelled extensively in Europe on their gliding adventures and have had a SPOT Gen3 with a subscription to Extreme Tracking since 2013.

Alfred Moore, an outdoor aficionado from Southern California, has been riding motorcycles for four years, on average 3-5 days a week. He and seven of his buddies recently went on a three-day weekend camping trip in the Los Padres National Forest. On the second day, Alfred and one other were tailing at the end of their group when he hit a switchback in the soft sand and took a hard fall.