|
Iridium's High Altitude
African Adventure
|
|
 |
|
Monday, 19 May, 2003
|
|
|
| Satellite Phone Provides
Safety for School Expedition |
|
| Over the New Year seven students,
three teachers, one guest, one chef, one assistant, one mountain guide,
two guards, ten mules, ten muleteers, two Kalashnikov assault rifles
and a Mobell Iridium satellite
phone set off to trek the Simien Mountains of northern Ethiopia. |
| Of this eclectic assemblage, the
students and teachers, from Bradfield College - Berkshire, would
become the first school party to climb Mount Ras Dashen, which
at 15,160 feet, is the 4th highest mountain in Africa. |
|
Students and teachers, from Bradfield College
|
|
| Exotic Sites |
|
| In the process of achieving
this enterprise they would be exposed to some of the most eye-opening
and exotic environments that the Earth could offer. |
|
| From bustling Addis Ababa,
to the faded royal grandeur of Gondar, via the rock strewn topography
of the Simien Mountains, to the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, not
to mention calling in at the final resting place of the Ark of the
Covenant in historic Axum. All very 'Indiana Jones' I'm sure you will
agree. |
|
| Indeed, for all those involved
this was a 'once in a lifetime' experience (perhaps with the exception
of the local guides). |
|
| Such an adventure always
requires thought and planning but, as this was a college trip with
students being placed in the care of teachers, it required even more
thought and planning than usual. |
|
|
| Student Safety |
|
| A fear over safety has led
to increased scrutiny, by both the authorities and the media, of the
guidelines governing the taking of students and teachers on adventure
activities, both in the UK and overseas. |
With this in mind the decision
to hire an Iridium
satellite phone was a prudent choice for the organisers of
the Bradfield College Expedition.
Using the Iridium satellite phone, which is able to make calls from
any locale on the planet, they would be able to raise the alarm at
any time. |
|
A guide carrying the Iridium rental package
|
|
|
| Ethiopia after all is a vast
country. Covering 450,000 square miles, it is over twice the size of
France and yet, with a populace of approximately 66,000,000 it is only
marginally more populous than the UK. |
|
| If during the course of their
3-week trek the group were to encounter any problems, they would often
be a long way from any form of settlement or aid. Even in urban areas,
local telecommunication infrastructures cannot always be relied upon.
The Iridium satellite phone could
prove invaluable in a crisis. |
|
|
| Christmas Calls |
| |
| Fortuitously the group did
not encounter any major troubles or mishaps, however, they were able
to use the satellite phone to keep in daily contact and advise the
relevant authorities of their progress. The satellite phone also came
in handy for receiving calls from the various parents to wish their
adventurous offspring a happy Christmas day. |
| |
| Supporting trips like Bradfield
College's Ethiopia Expedition is just one of the useful applications
satellite technologies, like the Iridium system, is fast being adopted
for. The ability to make calls from any location will hopefully go
some way to increase the safety of group adventure tourism in the future. |
| |
|
|
