Safety & Satellite Phones
ONLY COMPANY in Cusco with Satellite Phones
One more reason to book with Alpaca Expeditions!!
One of the best parts of hiking through the Andes is the remoteness. Being on top of the mountain with just your fellow trekkers and team can help connect you to the world in a way you have never experienced before. It's amazing to be disconnected from work and any problems you left at home.
But it can also be scary. And scary for us. We have been lucky to have no real issues on any of our treks other than your general altitude sickness, and we hope that this is the only issue we have. But in case there was a true emergency, we know that our radios have limited bandwidth. The only way to connect to the world while hiking in the mountains is with satellite phones - so we just bought 50 of them.
This means that every guide going out on one of our treks will be equipped with a fully charged satellite phone. And while these are really for emergencies, we are allowing our clients to use them at any time - even if its to just tell your family you made it to the top of Dead Womans Pass.
Because of the cost of the phones and the ridiculous cost of the minutes, we ask that you only cover what we are charged, which is $2.50 per minute. This can be paid in cash in our office or through PayPal when you are done with the hike.
We are not encouraging you to stay in touch with the office or check on your worries. Being disconnected is amazing. But if it causes you anxiety, fret no more. You will now have the option to always be connected to home.
Your safety comes first
Safety training for guides
To be a guide with Alpaca Expeditions, you must have graduated from University with a degree in Tourism.
Course study includes history, archeology, language, sociology and other courses relevant to being able to showcase our history. But the most important subject for all guides is Safety.
Knowing how to rescue and evacuate people in case of emergency is our highest priority, as well as how to treat major and minor problems.
While every guide always remembers what they learned in their course study, we feel it's important to refresh these lessons every year. Every February we hire a medical doctor to re-train all guides. We review the treatment of different illnesses and injuries and best ways to help clients get to a professional.
AE has a partnership with Clinic 02 and Medical Cusco. This partnership allows us to have direct access to medical professionals at all times and all guides carry satellite phones to make sure we have direct access to a professional in any situation at all times.
Among the topics we cover in training is how to handle the following issues:
- How to recognize and what to do in case you get altitude sickness
- Mountain accurate sickness
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR
- Pulmonary edema and brain edema
- Heart attack
- Asthma
- Animal Bites could be mosquitoes, spider, snakes or whatever bites you can get along the way
- Broken bone or toe, How to evacuate in case this would be the situation
- Burns
- Cuts and wounds
- Diarrhea, sometimes people’s stomach react to the food and water of Peru.
- Dizziness
- Fever in Adult and child, this may be the case when one gets infection
- Food poisoning
- Heart Palpitation
- Hypothermia
- Insect bites and stings
- Vertigo
- Sunburn
- Allergy
- Whatever pain you may get.
As we mention, we carry equipment to help us tend to all injuries and illnesses
SATELITE PHONES
AE is the only company that has satellite phones for all our treks. Most treks are found in remote areas and have a little phone signal to no signal. While they are trained in many things, having direct access to a doctor at all time greatly reduces the time for a rapid medical response. It also helps us get you off the mountain quicker and to get you to safety much faster.
Why only AE has satellite phones?
Because your safety is our priority, and our company has made a huge invest as we think this is one of the most important tools to have and operate tours in the high Andes because we are taking live’s and we operate with responsibility on our treks.
Our radios are tuned into the Tourism CULTURE Rangers and SERNANP Rangers.
WE have signed a contract and agreement with the Rangers of the inka trail.Who help us in the case of emergencies. Radios are used for emergencies to contact the Rangers and let them know about any SERIOUS situations. So they can react as soon as possible or provide us stretchers to evacuate you with our porters.
Each of our tours guides will have Radios as well as other tools as they need to coordinate any last minute details or less planned situations that may happen as the porters are always ahead to prepare the food.
Oximeter
Each AE guides have oximeter and monitor your condition as you get higher and higher in elevation to let you know the oxygen percentage you have , everyone’s body has a different reaction the altitude, and of course our guides will keep you informed and let you know if you need to take a bit of Oxygen as our guides will have oxygen tank with them.
Medical tensiometer.
We will make sure your heart beat and blood pleasure are working ok in the mountains; our guides are trained to use this tool, and in that way, you will enjoy more of your adventure safely.
First air kit
Besides the tools mentioned above our guides will carry the oxygen tank and a first aid kit full of medicine and other tools needed to be used in the Trek, so just ask them, and they will be happy to provide , however we still suggest you bring your kit if you are taking your own medicine or any particular medication you may be taking that was prescribed by your doctor.
Emergency Horse for alternative treks
Each of our alternative treks such as Salcantay trek or Lares Trek will always have one emergency horse to use in case you are out of breath or tired; we also provide helmets when you are riding, please ask your guide.
Drinking water for our tourist and porters
It is always important to know what type of water one drinks on the treks; it’s glacier water which is collected from the river or stream it's filtered and boiled and cooled down that is provided as drinking water for everyone. Purification pills are not needed to take for these hikes.
What Happens if I GET sick on the treks
It depends on a lot of what illness you get. First, our guides will diagnose your condition and decide the best course of action to take. Sometimes they may suggest you take some medication and continue the hike, or sometimes you might be returned by the guide or porters and taken by train to Machu Picchu, that is why AE has satellite phones to contact the office again and arrange the logistics immediately for you.
The Journey is the Destination
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