The best protection against avalanches is not to get caught in it. Before you go to the backcountry to ski, snowboard or even snowshoe, take an avalanche safety course and make sure you know the snow conditions and the terrain you want to explore. Even the best avalanche safety equipment will be useless if you don’t know how to use it, and none of these items can prevent an avalanche.
A must-have!! As in the best case, the helicopter will not arrive for 20-30 minutes, you are the first rescuers on site (a victim loses 80% chance of survival after 15 minutes: asphyxia – hypothermia). This Holy Trinity Avalanche transciever -Shovel-Probe will then be your only tool to try to get people out alive or to be out yourself. The market offers standard kits at more affordable prices. You can also choose each object precisely for its characteristics.
AVALANCHE SAFETY EQUIPMENT
All persons in a group travelling to the hinterland must be equipped with the following avalanche safety equipment:
- An avalanche transciever
- A probe
- A shovel
A new addition has recently been added to the list of avalanche safety items: the inflatable balloon. We’ll discuss this technology later in this post. And of course, in addition to having the right equipment, all members of your group must have completed avalanche safety training before venturing into the backcountry.
The Avalanche transciever or avalanche victim detectors
The Avalanche Transciever is the instrument that emits or receives a signal to be located and locate one or more people buried under the snow. In search mode, the dial indicates a distance and a direction. Preferably, use one that you know very well. Don’t be stingy about the price: it’s about saving lives (and maybe yours!). Choose a new and digital one,more efficient than the old analogs, and train according to the instructions. Change the batteries to less than 80% to make sure it will work in the cold. Among the major brands of Avalanche Transciever are Arva, Ortovox, Mammut. I chose the Barryvox for the large search strip width (70 meters).
The probe:
After roughly locating the victim at the Avalanche transciever, this telescopic pole allows you to « test the ground » to know exactly where it is. To do this, a spiral probe is probed in the shape of a snail. Take a size of at least 240 cm, with a simple and efficient fastening system. Keep the gloves during use so as not to give the rescue dogs the wrong olfactory indications.
The shovel:
It is used to clear the snow to get the victim out. The shovelling is done horizontally of the body so that it can be gently slid (instead of pulling from the top and thus aggravate potential injuries). If there are several of us, we position ourselves in the shape of a V to be more efficient. Prefer a model with an aluminum blade rather than plastic (lighter but more fragile) and with an oval handle rather than round, more convenient to fold it in the emergency. For my part, I opted for an Ortovox model with a double positioning of the blade on the handle, classic shovel or pickaxe.
The most important thing to remember about shovels? Everyone in the group has to have one. Take the trouble to practice shovelling in groups of two or three people to become as efficient as possible. During your avalanche safety training, you will learn the fastest shovelling methods.
Other useful equipment
The mountains are splendid but it is a hostile environment. Without necessarily thinking about the worst, it is good to always carry 2-3 small things potentially useful, just in case!
The first aid kit: a must-have with a survival blanket. There are different kits with bandages, compeeds, strips, compresses, eye drops, scissors, tweezers, gloves…
Sunscreen: in the mountains, it’s cooler, we’re GOOD BUT… It sucks!! With the reverberation of the snow, you are on a real mirror. So we follow the advice of dermatologists and we use it regularly.
A lipstick: with the sun, you can quickly have your lips dry, then left in tatters, especially if you are there for several days.
Look the video Val d’Aran Avalanche
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