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Wilderness Skills, Equipment and Gear, Navigation

Mountain Electronics 2025: Communications, Navigation and Other Considerations

American Alpine Institute
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In the mountains, electronics can be both a blessing and a curse. GPS units, radios, avalanche transceivers, apps and satellite messengers have revolutionized how we communicate and navigate in remote terrain—but they’ve also made us dependent on batteries and technology in environments where both can fail spectacularly.

In this video, we’ll dive into the essentials of mountain electronics. This includes cell phones, sat phones, satellite messaging systems, radios, watches, navigation apps, charging, avalanche transceivers, RECCO tags, air tags and drones.

The video was initially created in 2025. Much of the information within this is perishable. As electronics change, so too will the information presented here. Our goal is to update this information every couple of years.

Here is a breakdown of topics within the video:

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