Hiking 101: Do you have a whistle in your pack?

It may be the lightest piece of gear you’ll ever own: do you have a whistle? It’s time to double check your pack and make sure you have a whistle and make sure it works.

The best whistles are the ones attached the front of your pack, where you can reach it, if you fall. A whistle inside your pack isn’t much good if you fall and can’t reach it.

Why a whistle? Monday on Quandary Peak, two hikers got cliffed out and had to wait overnight for help. The hikers, from Tennessee, used a whistle to alert searchers from the Summit County Rescue Group. Officials say that whistle helped expedite their rescue.

During an accident involving my own hiking group in August in Rocky Mountain National Park, I was waiting with an injured man on a steep cliff. Hours later I heard two rangers on the cliff above me whistling. I yelled, but they never heard me. They later said they only found me because they spotted me waving my arms on the slope. A good reminder that in an emergency situation, the whistle needs to be in my hand and not on my pack on the ground.

Anna DeBattiste, the Public Information Officer for the Summit County Rescue Group said, "all of our rescuers carry whistles attached to our backpacks to help find people. A whistle carries so much further than a person's voice."