Alaska troopers encourage selfies for backcountry travelers

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska State Troopers are looking for your selfies – those ubiquitous self-portraits, usually snapped with smartphone cameras, that make up countless Facebook profile pictures and online avatars.

But they don’t want selfies snapped in the privacy of your own home. They’re suggesting Alaskans take a selfie right before heading out into the backcountry, as a way to account for their whereabouts.

Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said the advice to snap a selfie is part of a larger push to encourage those venturing into the backcountry to fill out a “wilderness trip plan,” a form that she said has been around for “quite a while.” The form can be found on the Department of Public Safety website.

Ipsen suggested Alaskans leave a printout of the wilderness plan on the dashboard of their vehicle, on their kitchen counter, or with someone reliable who can notify authorities if the traveler hasn’t returned at a planned time. It asks for basic information – birth date, address, expected departure and arrival dates, method of travel and the type of gear being carried.

The selfie is an added tool, Ipsen said, and the snapshot should be taken and texted right before you head into the woods. It can show details the form can’t: the design of a helmet or jacket, decals on a snowmachine or other identifiers.

“What is nice about the selfie is that it can be taken at the beginning of an outing and it is a recent photograph,” Ipsen said. “If I don’t show up to work on Monday, there’s a picture of the clothes I was wearing, the machine I was riding, and any tiny bit of information can help.”

As an example, Ipsen said such identifiers could allow a helicopter to “zero in” on a specific injured snowmachiner in a heavily trafficked area.

Ipsen became the face of the life-saving selfie technique after a recent post on the Alaska State Troopers Facebook page.