Tahoe Backcountry Radio Has A Plan

We have reported in the past on community-based efforts to establish backcountry zones with designated radio channels to facilitate group-to-group communication. The longest-standing program, as far as we know, is the Telluride Backcountry Radio Program. What began as a modest effort has expanded into nearly 10 channel-specific zones and broad community buy-in. 

Lake Tahoe is the latest community to initiate a similar program, with South and North zones/channels, respectively. The premise behind these radio programs is simple: establish agreed-upon zones and channels so that one group within a specific zone can listen in on other groups and, if necessary, communicate with them. It can be a good method for gaining a better understanding of human traffic within a zone and which lines, ridges, approaches, etc., may be populated by ski/ride tourists. 

This radio initiative has been a grassroots community effort. Jamie Morgan is a longtime local tourer who believed there was a need. Chris Haagen, the director of the Tahoe Backcountry Ski Patrol, which, as its name suggests, is a non-profit providing patrols and education in the Tahoe/Truckee backcountry, said his organization saw the benefits and got on board. Through a collaborative process that included community meetings with stakeholders, a plan was developed. Unlike the community radio zones, for example, in Telluride and the Wasatch, which consist of a handful of discrete zones served by a unique FRS channel and code, the Tahoe/Truckee region is broken into 23 zones. Although this region is a web of private land touching public land, the zones, as mapped, lie on public land accessible via a trailhead. Further complicating the scene, there are major roads and an Interstate to consider. A working group devised parameters to outline the respective zones and set to work. As with other similar programs, natural features like ridges and drainages became defining characteristics.