Avalanche Transceiver Probe Shovel For Ski-Tours
Search and Rescue Items To Consider When Learning Ski-touring
Mar 1, 2009
Avalanches are a serious risk to the off-piste (or backcountry in the US) skier. While their risks can be minimised, it is not possible to entirely eliminate their risk. Therefore, search and rescue gear should be carried by every member in a ski-touring party to improve the odds of being found in time, in case anyone in the party gets avalanched.
Avalanche Gear – Transceiver
This item should be a “do not go out without” piece of kit. Designed to be both search and rescue equipment, this can be an absolute life saver. There are many different varieties – some even have a facility for finding skis with appropriate transmitter attached. But all should have the ability to transmit a signal, and search for other people’s signals with a variable sensitivity setting. This is often marked as distance (ie the distance within which it will pick up a signal).
These must be used with alkaline batteries – not rechargables. The reason for this is that an alkaline battery’s life tails off slowly, giving some warning that it is going. Most rechargables run out of charge very suddenly, meaning that it is harder to know that the batteries will last all day when the transceiver is put on at the start of the day’s tour.
At the start of the tour, each person in the group should check that their transceiver is emitting a signal that the others can pick up, and that they are receiving other people’s signals. This should be done from a distance of 10m or more apart.
Avalanche Gear – Probe
This is used for finding people after an avalanche, when the search area has been narrowed down to a single point using the transceiver. It is a very lightweight set of aluminium tube with shock cord down the middle (a bit like a tent pole) approximately 2-3m long when fully extended. Each member of the party should carry one. When used, it should be poked gently into the snow at small distances around the point of loudest signal on the transceiver. When a point of unexpected resistance is reached, this suggests the correct location has been found, and the probe should be left in position to reassure a potential casualty that they have been found, and that rescue is on its way.
Avalanche Gear – Shovel
A lightweight shovel – often with detachable handle – should be carried by each member of the party. Metal ones are more effective in use than plastic ones for little additional weight, but are harder to find in rental shops. Their use is for shovelling away snow from a point identified by transceiver and probe as highly likely to be where an avalanche casualty is underneath.
Know The Avalanche Risks
Ski touring is a great way to experience the mountains in winter and venture into the wilderness without the hordes often associated with piste (or in the USA ski-run) skiing. But this can be a dangerous activity - novices should ensure they understand the risks of avalanches and how to predict their risk out in the mountains. They should also have both fitness and sufficient piste-skiing skills before attempting this, and should hire a guide-instructor if in any doubt of their expertise.
This article concentrates on other items of rental equipment (ie avalanche rescue gear) such as avalanche transceivers probes and shovel, that may be less obvious items of equipment to the novice ski-tourer. For information on boots, poles and skis see the article “What To Think About When Hiring Ski-touring Gear”, and for information on bindings see the article "Touring Bindings - Info For Novices".
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