Just a few months after Apple added a backcountry SOS feature, it may have already saved the life of a man stuck in the Alaskan wilderness.

With a minimum price tag of $800, the iPhone 14 doesn’t come cheap. But the cost might seem small if it saves your life.

That’s evidently the case for a man who found himself stuck in Alaska’s northwestern wilderness on Dec. 1. He was traveling by snowmobile when he became stranded and couldn’t get back to help, according to a news release from Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.

The snowmobiler didn’t have phone service, but “activated an Apple Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone,” the release said.

Using the GPS coordinates sent from the phone, a volunteer team of search and rescue workers found the stranded man quickly. They transported him to the nearby town of Kotzebue, where state troopers said he had no injuries.

As of this writing, Alaska’s Department of Public Safety has not released details on what caused the man to become stranded.

As the Instagram post below illustrates, it’s not the first time this year an iPhone may have saved a life.

 

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Una publicación compartida por Tim Blakey (@mrtimblakey)

Other SOS Calls from iPhones

Even without off-grid SOS, the iPhone offers easy-to-activate distress calls for users who have phone service.

In April, Tim Blakey, 41, credited Apple with saving his life after he fell into a 15-foot crevasse in the Alps. He used his iPhone, which was nearly out of battery, but still had service, and pressed the power button five times to send an SOS.

“The last thank you to Apple, their side button five-click to emergency services — especially great when your screen is constantly being dripped on, and to the service provider for giving me 3G connection and 3% battery 5 m below the ice,” Blakey wrote on Instagram. “The alternative to this has been keeping me up at night to say the least.”

Also, an American woman claimed that the same feature helped her escape an attempted assault in 2019.

iPhone 14’s SOS: How It Works

Although Apple dropped its newest phone in September, the Emergency SOS feature only became available in North America in November.

As GearJunkie wrote in a review last month, the SOS service allows the company’s latest smartphones to send short messages where cellphone coverage isn’t available. By leveraging the power of satellites, “this could make these devices an essential tool for use in the backcountry and disaster zones,” we wrote.

This is exactly what Apple’s leaders intended with the feature.

“Our users can explore off-the-grid areas knowing they are still within reach of emergency services if they are in need,” Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said in a November news release.

Currently, Apple’s off-grid SOS service only works in North America. But the company has plans to expand the satellite service to the UK, France, Germany, and Ireland.

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It’s not always practical to get outdoors, so here’s the next best thing: our selection of the top mountaineering and climbing movies to satisfy your urge for adventure from the comfort of your couch.

We’ve selected nine non-documentary films that span the rich history of climbing-adjacent cinema, from blockbuster thrillers and big-name productions to quirky indie animations and time-tested heartwarmers.

As there’s such a broad range of films within the climbing genre, there’s bound to be something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a deep emotional journey or some light, family-friendly fun.

Climbing Movies for Rainy Days

127 Hours (2010)

Duration: 95 min.

Featuring Danny Boyle’s signature frenetic-yet-calculated pacing, “127 Hours” is the true story of the now-infamous Aron Ralston (James Franco), who was forced to spend several traumatic days trapped in a small Utah canyon.

While intensely wince-inducing, “127 Hours” is much more than just a rollercoaster ride of angst and agony; it explores the dark side of adventurous sports and outdoor pursuits, as well as the nature of humanity’s extreme resilience and fierce will to survive.

Even if you’ve seen it, “127 Hours” is worth a second viewing, and be sure to keep an eye out for the camcorder used by Franco — it’s the actual one Ralston was trapped with.

Find the trailer here and the entire movie on Disney+.

Poorna: Courage Has No Limit (2017)

Duration: 100 min.

“Poorna: Courage Has No Limit” is the uplifting story of how Poorna Malavath, at just 13, came to be the youngest girl ever to summit Everest. One of the most well-received climbing movies of all time, the film features some stunning Himalayan visuals.

It’s available in a dubbed form, but it’s advisable to see this one in its original Hindi language with subtitles due to the authenticity of the dialogue and dialects. Further adding to the film’s authenticity, the shooting occurred in the actual village where the real-life Poorna grew up.

You can find the trailer and full climbing movie on YouTube.

7 Years in Tibet (1997)

Duration: 136 min.

The true tale of an Austrian mountaineer who befriended the Dalai Lama and witnessed China’s takeover of Tibet, “7 Years in Tibet” stars Brad Pitt as Heinrich Harrer in this John Williams-scored epic.

Full of breathtaking photography depicting the “roof of the world,” approximately 20 minutes of which was filmed secretly in Tibet without permission, “7 Years in Tibet” offers some great mountaineering spectacle, albeit interwoven with a few questionable Austrian accents.

Interestingly, due to the controversial nature of China’s invasion of Tibet, while the script received the Dalai Lama’s blessing, the government banned the core actors from China for their contributions to the film.

See the trailer and rent the movie on YouTube.

Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Runtime: 107 min.

A criminally overlooked Disney classic, “Third Man on the Mountain” is a family-friendly adventure and an excellent choice for those who appreciate the “golden age” of cinema.

Adapted from the novel “Banner in the Sky,” this is the also true story of Rudi Matt (portrayed by James MacArthur), a teenager who is determined to fulfill his late father’s dream of scaling the Matterhorn.

Genuinely filmed on the Matterhorn, the cast and crew of “Third Man on the Mountain” were required to summit the infamous mountain for shooting. You’ll find the entire climbing movie and trailer at Disney+.

Vertical Limit (2000)

Runtime: 124 min.

Perhaps one of the best-known climbing movies on our list, “Vertical Limit” leads us through a series of scary, precarious scenarios and depicts the brutality of nature by quickly shifting into a story of man versus nature survival.

While not without flaws, such as the occasionally clichéd dialogue and action sequences, “Vertical Limit” has plenty to offer in the way of good old-fashioned, rip-roaring fun. Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton, and Robin Tunney lead the cast.

Some of the gruesome images, such as the frostbitten feet of one character (which are genuinely those of Mark Whetu, who lost his toes in an attempt on Everest in 1994), are unlikely to make you long for the mountains. But there is plenty of palpable adrenaline to be had here.

You can still find this movie to rent online via Hulu or Amazon Prime.

The White Tower (1950)

Runtime: 98 min.

Full of Alpine beauty, romantic photography, and economical pacing, “The White Tower” is another time-tested, highly watchable, feel-good classic. Don’t be put off by the age of this one, starring Glenn Ford — it’s well worth 98 minutes of your time.

Whereas most films in this genre are concerned with man versus nature, “The White Tower” is much more about interpersonal relationships and what happens when an eclectic group of (brilliantly acted) characters is thrown into a situation that calls for cooperation.

It’s not the easiest climbing movie to track down, but you can find the trailer and information about where to stream in your region on this site.

Cliffhanger (1993)

Runtime: 113 min.

Packed with precarious, adrenaline-laced action, “Cliffhanger” sees Sylvester Stallone, along with an excellent supporting cast, tear his way across the Dolomites (posing as the Colorado Rockies). In “Cliffhanger,” Sly does what Sly does best; his performance is physical and heroic while John Lithgow plays a brilliantly villainous organized criminal who will stop at nothing to retrieve a cash-laden suitcase.

“Cliffhanger” holds the Guinness World Record for the most costly aerial stunt ever performed. Stuntman Simon Crane was paid $1 million to cross from one plane to another at an altitude of 15,000 feet.

You can stream it on Amazon Prime.

The Eiger Sanction (1975)

Runtime: 123 min.

Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, “The Eiger Sanction” is another John Williams-scored classic. Eastwood plays Hemlock, a Bond-esque assassin who’s tasked with hunting down a murderer on the Eiger’s perilous North Face.

By the time filming commenced, the north face of the Eiger had already claimed 41 lives, and on the second day of shooting, it claimed another when 26-year-old climber David Knowles was hit by a boulder.

Despite this tragedy, Eastwood did all of his own stunts, including cutting his safety line and plummeting 1,000 feet.

You can still find this movie to rent online via Hulu or Amazon Prime.

The Summit of the Gods (2021)

Runtime: 94 min.

The most recent release on our list, “The Summit of the Gods” is an award-winning French-language, animation-based climbing movie based on a Japanese manga series.

“The Summit of the Gods” depicts a reporter’s obsessive quest to find the truth about George Mallory, the British mountaineer who may or may not have been the first to scale Everest after discovering Mallory’s camera and undeveloped film.

Director Patrick Imbert consulted many mountaineers to ensure that the animation and depiction would be accurate, and it shows. While animated in an unelaborate style, “The Summit of the Gods” features some of the most glorious imagery of any climbing movie on our list.

You can find “Summit of the Gods” and its trailer on Netflix.

We know there’s no substitute for the real thing, but exploring the diverse range of mountaineering movies is a rewarding experience in itself. We hope these remarkable films will scratch your itch until you can get out there in person!

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Fish showers might sound like the stuff of apocalyptic prophecy, but it’s not unheard of. There’s even a darkly comedic term for it — ‘animal rain.’

East Texans are used to thunderstorms and winter showers. But on the afternoon of Dec. 29, it wasn’t just rain that precipitated from the clouds. A smattering of palm-size fish came down with it. It’s the first recorded occurrence of animal rain in state history.

Most of the specimens appeared to be shad or young bass measuring 2 to 7 inches in length. It’s unclear just how many fish fell on Texarkana, Texas, but town officials identified four “fall zones” across a 2.5-mile stretch. Local Devin Sewell told the Texarkana Gazette that he could see “fish everywhere for about 100 yards.”

Experts think they can explain the phenomenon.

Explaining Fish Rain

According to National Weather Service spokesman Michael Berry, animal rain usually happens when a waterspout or updraft sweeps up small aquatic and land-dwelling animals.

National Geographic explains that a waterspout starts as a pressure vortex in the atmosphere, which moves down toward a body of water, gaining momentum in the process. As that momentum builds and the vortex surges, it can gain enough pressure to suck up small, light objects and creatures.

The waterspout then suspends and carries the menagerie until its centrifugal force weakens. That’s when things get epic, and in this case, palm-size fish fell back to Earth.

Alternately, an unusually powerful updraft could be to blame for last week’s aquatic rainfall. Updrafts are another token of atmospheric pressure systems and are vital to condensing colder air into clouds. Lighter-duty updrafts often pick up light objects, like brush or sand, and they can exceed wind speeds of 60 miles per hour.

Occurrences of Animal Rain

According to the Library of Congress, scientists first linked updrafts to animal rain in the late 1800s, after frogs rained on Kansas City and Dubuque, Iowa — two locations devoid of natural frog habitats.

There are several reports of seafood storms in the modern era too. In 2017, approximately 100 fish fell on an elementary school in California. And, per The Weather Channel, the Australian town of Lajamanu recorded three instances of fish fall in the last 30 years.

The residents of Texarkana seem either mildly amused, slightly annoyed, or generally unmoved by the event. Local Tim Brigham told reporters that he thought the whole thing was “pretty cool,” and he had “started to get me a bucket and picked them up for fishing bait.”

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Kelty’s new topicals live up to the brand’s pain relief claims, all while smelling great and not getting you high. But is CBD the key to success here?

Outdoor enthusiasts know Kelty for its value-forward camp gear. Think backpacks, sleeping bags and pads, tents for camping and backpacking, and more. But now the brand has some skin in the CBD game.

Last month, Kelty announced its latest release: a line of “pain-relieving” CBD topicals. And, according to Kelty, that particular pain claim is what sets its products apart from both CBD- and non-CBD-infused competitors.

“You’ll look across CBD products and see ‘soothes this’ and ‘soothes that,’ but depending on the ingredients in the product, you can’t say ‘this product relieves pain’ unless the ingredients are FDA-approved,” Russ Rowell, Kelty senior vice president and general manager, told us. But Kelty noted it uses ingredients that do carry FDA approval.

So, we put it to the test. For this review, we tried Kelty’s CBD Pain Relief Cream ($40-50) and CBD Pain Relief Salve ($40-60), both in one-ounce quantities and 500mg strengths.

In short: In our testing, the topicals did reduce the testers’ muscle aches and joint pain, all while emanating pleasant peppermint and citronella oil fragrances. But here’s the rub: We’re not convinced CBD did the heavy lifting here, as it’s not even listed as an active ingredient. (More on that later.)

Kelty CBD Topicals Review

Testing

The purported benefits of CBD, which works within the body’s endocannabinoid system, are many. Although there isn’t a strong scientific consensus for most of these claims, evidence does exist in the emerging field of CBD research that lends some credibility. CBD has been said to help with pain, acne, some mental and neurological disorders, and even cancer symptoms.

In our testing, the Kelty CBD topicals we used performed as advertised, providing “relief from minor aches/pains in our muscles and joints.” The salve eliminated one tester’s minor shoulder muscle pain for a couple of hours.

The topicals also made knees less stiff and provided a greater range of motion. Our female tester’s knee pain wasn’t “minor” to begin with — more like moderate in level, and sharp in nature, leading up to the application of the topicals — so it was still present, but greatly reduced.

These topicals aren’t for severe or chronic pain and don’t claim to be. That said, our male tester found that the topicals reduced his chronic back pain for a couple of hours — by at least two levels on a pain scale of 1 to 10.

Both testers really appreciated the higher relative comfort level the topicals provided.

Cream vs. Salve

The cream and the salve behaved a bit differently in testing but had comparable levels of effectiveness. The two have the same active ingredients, in the same quantities, and none of them are CBD-related: capsicum (0.23%), capsaicin (undisclosed percentage), and menthol (4%). However, their textures and fragrances differ.

Kelty’s CBD Pain Relief Cream acts like a medium-thin lotion that smells strongly of peppermint (which we loved). It feels quite cold on the skin, so it’s best used on smaller areas. (Note: The box says “warming and cooling relief,” but our testers felt the cooling a lot more.)

It spreads easily, and you don’t need a lot. Our female tester, who used these products on her knees and shoulders, preferred the cream to the salve because it worked better for massage.

The CBD Pain Relief Salve is a thicker, balmy substance that smells of citronella. It doesn’t spread as far and doesn’t work well for massage — just application. Our male tester preferred the salve because the cream was unpleasantly cold when applied to his entire back.

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Kelty CBD Topicals: Here’s the Rub

Although we got positive results in our testing, it’s important to ask why. Looking to other pain-relieving topicals on the market may provide answers. Kelty’s stuff is basically a liniment with a trendy, under-researched ingredient — CBD — mixed in.

Although CBD is the center of Kelty’s marketing for these products, the brand’s topicals share ingredients (like menthol, capsaicin, and camphor) with other pain relief products like IcyHot or Bengay that have been around for many years.

We suspect these ingredients play a role in the positive results we got, as the FDA has approved them. As yet, CBD isn’t recognized by the FDA except in a drug for two rare, severe forms of epilepsy.

When we asked Kelty why CBD is not listed as an active ingredient in these topicals, the brand said, “The FDA does not recognize CBD as an active/OTC ingredient, which is why it is placed under ‘other ingredients’ [on the packaging].”

And when we spoke to Kelty last month about this product launch, the brand touted its FDA-approved ingredients. “We get to wear that stamp of approval using these ingredients,” Rowell said.

According to the FDA, CBD is not one of those ingredients the brand can claim as a pain-reliever. Because we know at least some of the other ingredients are FDA-approved, as discussed above, we assume the “stamp of approval” is on those.

Do You Need CBD Topicals?

The short answer is no. The prices of the CBD Pain Relief Cream ($40-50) and CBD Pain Relief Salve ($40-60) are competitive in the CBD market. But you can get non-CBD pain-relieving topicals for much less than that (under $10 for the same quantity or more). And regarding whether CBD topicals work better than their non-CBD counterparts, the current scientific consensus is shaky at best.

When we asked Kelty to compare its CBD topicals to non-CBD pain-relieving ointments, the brand said, “CBD topicals work in similar fashion to the other topicals that do not contain CBD (such as IcyHot and Bengay). They are both intended to soothe or relieve pain (ours relieves pain with FDA-approved ingredients). These just have the added benefits that cannabidiol provides for pain relief.”

That said, if you want to assess the “added benefits” of CBD topical pain relief for yourself, Kelty’s line of CBD topicals is as good as any, won’t cost you more than the competition, and smells great.