Every experienced skier should know about avalanche safety precautions and when avalanche danger is high and how to proceed in those conditions.
With hundreds of thousands of avalanches happening every year, it is never known when the next one will be triggered. Avalanches are natural occurrences and should not be taken lightly.
What Should You Look For in Avalanche Safety Gear?
While looking for avalanche safety it is important to be aware of the quality endured in the product.
Make sure your gear is well tested and can be verified as a trusted product that has been successfully used before.
Don't skip out on any important equipment as everything is necessary in case of emergency.
The Best Avalanche Safety Gear Today
BCA Float Avalanche Airbag
First thing that you're going to need is your avalanche airbag. A BCA float avalanche airbag can be inflated in the process of an avalanche to help in many different ways. In the event of an avalanche starting, blowing up your airbag will help you rise as far up as possible in the snow depth, making it easier for you to be dug out by yourself or someone else.
This airbag can also reduce trauma to your head, neck and back and prevent injuries that could affect your physical ability if you are trapped. Even more important this backpack will be carrying your other tools that will most likely be necessary for survival in an avalanche.
Radio
The first thing in that pack would be a two way radio. A radio communicator should honestly be carried anytime you're on the mountain, not just in the backcountry or high avalanche risk areas. Being able to communicate with others is obviously important as surviving avalanches alone is extremely rare. Make sure to get a radio that is suitable for cold weather, has good battery life, and is easy to navigate in time crunch scenarios.
Avalanche Transceiver
An avalanche transceiver is also known as a beacon. A beacon is a device that allows for location tracking.
Every beacon on the market today works on the same frequency and principle. All members of your party should turn on their beacons before descent or traverse.
This device is essential in the situation of you or another skier being buried and unable to locate. Although the life of a beacon will last a lot longer than you would think it is recommended to replace them every couple of years.
Another important aspect to beacons is practice. In a do or die scenario you do not want this to be the first time you are operating your beacon.
Probes
Essentially just a long and fold up stick, probes are used to find the exact location of a buried body. Your beacon will direct you but the probe can pinpoint exactly where and how deep someone could be buried.
These can be up to 10 feet long and made out of some sort of metal but are easily transported in a backpack.
Once again, even though this is a fairly basic concept, this product requires practice. Depending on how you like to dress, it is essential to know that you will be able to perform this task with whatever gloves or other equipment you have on.
Shovels
It is assumed that everyone knows what a shovel does. Getting an avalanche shovel is important however because they are designed a little bit differently than your classic garden shovel.
They are lighter, some will be able to extend or have a detachable handle, as well as some having snow saws attached to cut through different snow variations. When you find a body it's time to start digging right away.
Everyone in your group should have ski shovels in their packs to be able to work together fast and efficiently.
Other options
While these five tools listed are absolutely required, they are just the bare minimum.
There is much more equipment that can be carried and used to help in case of an avalanche emergency.
Some other options for avalanche safety gear include, slope meters and snow study kits that can be used beforehand to prevent an avalanche disaster.
Slope meters take the guessing game out of possible avalanches. Slopes that are over 30 degrees are genuinely the baseline of possible dangers. Snow study kits have tools that can be used to figure out just exactly what is inside the snowpack.
Making sure to have extra warmth in layers of jackets, hand warmers, gloves, or beanies can all be helpful in cases of emergency. Being hydrated and having extra hydration, whether being in a sleeve or bottle can save a life too.
The Bottom Line: Avalanche Safety Gear
Avalanches are scary but they are very real. It is one of the risks all skiers take when going out in the mountains.
Without this gear, survival in an avalanche is nearly impossible.
It's better to be safe than to be sorry may sound like a corny, overused saying but it is true. If you're going to be venturing out into the backcountry or into high risk areas it would almost be a crime if you were not prepared with at least these five items.
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