In-Bounds safety kit/checklist

[bern43]

I'm on the carrying a small pack with some supplies side of this one. I was skiing some sidecountry with a buddy and he somehow managed to slice open his hand. We managed to ski out, but if it had been any worse he might not have been able to. A space blanket, small first aid kit, etc. would have come in very handy.

[sftc]

Here to post in this epic thread, bounce it to the top, and say Happy New Years to all!

Because, as Joe says, vapor lock is no joking matter.

[Wannaskipownow]

Wow, 4 pages and no mention yet? Critical for protection. Stay safe and be prepared!

[sfotex]

Hasn't anyone seen the movie 'Frozen' ?
You can die at the ski resort!!

[carvedog]

Seven years ago today we lost a good friend during a record New Years Day snowstorm on Baldy. Nearly 30 inches fell that day. I know a lot of you are way too fucking core to ski Sun Valley, but we get the goods here once in a while. I saw Tom at the top of the hill just before his last run. Maybe the last one to see him. Tom went zipper line on Upper River, I was twenty to thirty yards into the trees to his right. And I got stuck in there for a good ten minutes within 50 yards of where he was ultimately found. A whistle might have made a difference.

http://www.mtexpress.com/2004/04-01-...7tomwernig.htm

And this last year -

http://www.newwest.net/snow_blog/art...nche/C458/L41/

And this is where the inbounds is "tame". Places like CB, J-Hole, Baker, Crystal, Snowbasin all have way more remote inbounds areas. But you all just keep blinding believing that a cell phone is all you need. Good luck with that.

Yeah seems like a huge waste to me too, you're in bounds and should never be that far from help. Like everyone else said use your brain and you will be fine, a cell phone is the only thing I take when skiing alone since pretty much everywhere has coverage these days.

This is just fine if you are skiing a snow covered zit in upper Minnesota or central Wisconsin. Just charge your phone, you will be fine.

Oh hear we go.... Johnny judgemental getting butthurt about a small joke.

Do I sound "baked out of my gourd" ? You leave your basic survival shit and home and just say a prayer and cross your fingers if things go south. I'll be smokin' a joint around my campfire wrapped in my bivy sack if things go to shit.

OR I will be prepared to help some else.

This is the voice of reason talking, not some bro-brah with limited brain function. Ever see me in a stupid situation? Not so much.

Hey Cramped - you are welcome to ski with me anytime.

[splat]

I have fallen into tree wells twice and am here to say that unless you have exceptional upper body strength or someone right there when it happens, you are pretty much fucked. If you're hanging upside down in a tree well, you'll wish you had an air horn strapped to your wrist, because studies on beacons that make noise to enhance rescue negated the use of such devices due to the inability of sound to travel through snow.

[Neal0301]

Throw in a parachute flare. Cant go wrong with one of those. Unless you try to use it as a parachute...

[bc]

[TBS]

There's an old mountaineers' saying that if you are prepared to bivouac you'll probably have to.

That has to be a YOUNG mountaineers' saying - you don't grow old with that attitude.

For those of you saying nobody gets lost/stranded inbounds… just this week, in just Oregon:

A 14 YO kid lost a ski in some steep terrain at Mt Bachelor - was found hunkered down in a snow cave.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-no..._stranded.html

Three 20-something snowboarders wandered off from Mt Hood Ski Bowl and ended up way the hell OB and lost. Luckily, they had cell reception where they were, something that isn't very common east of that location.
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Search...112634024.html

My guess is both the kid at Bachy and the three boardheads would have appreciated space blankets and lights.

Also, about six years ago a buddy's teenage sons (15 & 13) spent an unanticipated night out in a 0 degree F snowstorm in Mt Hood Meadows (inbounds) side country, after one fell in a creek and broke his board late one afternoon. They carried swiss army knives, space blankets, lights, a fire kit and two power bars in their hydration packs. They had basic survival training and handled the situation well (yes they got a fire going), but were still pretty miserable when found early the next AM.

So, unless you ski only in the park or on open groomed runs, and go inside when the weather closes in, suggested additions to Crampedon’s list include:
- A swiss army knife or multitool
- Echoing Hutash’s comment, some basic winter survival training...the knowledge of how to stay out of trouble, BUT if things get ugly, what to do if you find yourself in a treewell, how to stay as warm as possible, how to start/maintain a fire in shitty conditions, how to read map/compass, when to stay put and when to try walking out.

Splat's flare gun would be cool too, although a little bulky

[keipow]

With regards to a fire starting device, I've been carrying waterproof matches and magnesium+fire steel as back up.

Having looked at fire pistons, matches, flints, I realized that technology makes life easier. I feel no shame in admitting that I am not man enough to start fires on snow in strong wind with numb fingers by matches or fire steel very quickly in a survival situation.

I'd like to replace the matches with a reliable, windproof, water-resistant, light-weight lighter and some tinder. Does anyone have a good suggestion for the lighter? I can deal with a little more weight. The reviews for Brunton stuff on the Internet seems pretty bad.

[neck beard]

+1 CarveDog.

At the minimum a whistle.

I read a while ago of a guy who attracted attention to his plight by repeatedly firing his camera flash well into the night on a cliff side.

[splat]

My bca stash pack pack typically contains:
A big first aid kit. knee brace. ace bandage. water bladder. flashlight. laser pointer. space blanket bivy bag. lighter. matches. extra gloves. extra goggles. extra layer. whistle. and sometimes pencil flares. In 48 years of skiing, 20 years with a pack, I have rescued myself or others innumerable times and have never been in a toboggan. I wear my pack for spine protection as much as anything, since I've broken my back a few times. When I blew my knee out at the top of mammoth, I whipped out the ace bandage, wrapped my knee, had my maggot friends pull me to my feet and skied down. When a friend blew his knee in Engleberg, I had two soft foam braces I doubled up on his knee that got him back to the tram. I've patched up a lot of friends on the hill. It's always nice to help others who aren't as prepared.

I was never dissing this thread, just pointing out the probable futility of a whistle in a tree well and the need to make a big enough ruckus if you need someone who might rescue you to notice and realize your call for help.

[Chnaiur]

I really recommend to carry the whistle on a string around your wrist. If you are caught in a treewell that's the only chance to reach it.

[powdork]

[pivot slip]

pitch the vaseline and cotton balls...just stuff some fritos in your satch...great for eating and they ignite quickly and stay lit for a long time

[neck beard]

Or a couple of brazil nuts.

[neck beard]

Of course, not that I recommend inbounds freeriders to get about with brazil nuts in their pack as some type of fool-if-you-don't thing.

[spanghew]

My bca stash pack pack typically contains:
A big first aid kit. knee brace. ace bandage. water bladder. flashlight. laser pointer. space blanket bivy bag. lighter. matches. extra gloves. extra goggles. extra layer. whistle. and sometimes pencil flares. In 48 years of skiing, 20 years with a pack, I have rescued myself or others innumerable times and have never been in a toboggan. I wear my pack for spine protection as much as anything, since I've broken my back a few times. When I blew my knee out at the top of mammoth, I whipped out the ace bandage, wrapped my knee, had my maggot friends pull me to my feet and skied down. When a friend blew his knee in Engleberg, I had two soft foam braces I doubled up on his knee that got him back to the tram. I've patched up a lot of friends on the hill. It's always nice to help others who aren't as prepared.

I was never dissing this thread, just pointing out the probable futility of a whistle in a tree well and the need to make a big enough ruckus if you need someone who might rescue you to notice and realize your call for help.

what makes you think you're doing your friends a favor by treating them on the hill rather than letting ski patrol do it?

[BCMtnHound]

With regards to a fire starting device, I've been carrying waterproof matches and magnesium+fire steel as back up.

Having looked at fire pistons, matches, flints, I realized that technology makes life easier. I feel no shame in admitting that I am not man enough to start fires on snow in strong wind with numb fingers by matches or fire steel very quickly in a survival situation.

I'd like to replace the matches with a reliable, windproof, water-resistant, light-weight lighter and some tinder. Does anyone have a good suggestion for the lighter? I can deal with a little more weight. The reviews for Brunton stuff on the Internet seems pretty bad.

A simple BIC lighter is the best flame starter ever. Even soaking wet, as long as you have one hand that can grasp the lighter, and a DRY surface that can be used to briskly turn the striker over the flint a few times before depressing the gas (even just the heel of one hand), that flint will eventually spark enough to ignite the gas. Ex-smoker, PNW bush worker tested. I carried a ZIPPO for a long spell too - but a BIC is cheaper, there is no wick to get wet, requires a minimum of dexterity to light, and I have one in a pocket and at least one stashed in every pack I own. And it can be replaced in almost every non-civilized corner store in N.A. Just get rid of that damn child-proof guard before venturing out

Dry tinder and subsequent fuel is usually dependent on local conditions, and/or foresight - the previous mentioned doritos, waxed cotton balls, local pitchwood - but that BIC lighter I have always been able to get a flame (with fingers I could no longer feel). My hulking, frozen mass is sufficient to shield the flame enough to catch the tinder in all but hurricane conditions.

[khyber.pass]

G3 makes digging out your friend's body also a good time to get some mellow and/or hypertracerated action going on (depending on whether you're rolling with sativa or indica):



Ah, I was looking at one of these, great handwarmer:

And a decent travel vape:

Anyone got one? Curious if worth the splurge for nice, smell-free action.


Here in Whistler most kids I know are beeping and carry avi gear when riding a lot of "inbounds" terrain as hey, it tends to slide around here without warning and the tree well terrain and pillow drops are no fucking joke. Everyone I know carries a whistler and during a deep storm the avalungs come out.

But seriously if you're riding groomers all day .. you don't need a backpack with survival gear, not unless you're on Mount Inept and You Too Are Destined For Darwin.

Here's a post-control crown on Blackcomb .. on terrain ridden daily:



Want more? Read this.

[Fat City]

I'm with Crampedon on this one. On deep/low vis storm days inbounds, I usually carry in my AvaLung pack:
-shovel
-10ft cordalette
-compass
-lighter
-basic first aid
-extra synthetic layer (weighs nothing, and is unbelievably warm)
-couple of Cliff bars
-water
-headlamp

Chances are, esp. inbounds, that I won't ever run into a need for any of this, but the thought of coming up on someone else (in my group or not) that is in need of help of some sort and not being prepared to help is enough for me to carry the ~1-2lbs of extra gear around.
No big deal if it saves a life.

Fats-

[Hugh Conway]

Here in Whistler most kids I know are beeping and carry avi gear when riding a lot of "inbounds" terrain as hey, it tends to slide around here without warning and the tree well terrain and pillow drops are no fucking joke. Everyone I know carries a whistler and during a deep storm the avalungs come out.

That's also because it's poseur city

[splat]

This thread delivers.

[Crampedon]

Spatster, i don't know what that is.

Oh, shit going out the back of a plane!

Very odd.

This is more better

http://www.m2film.dk/fleggaard/index.php?film=2

[skifishbum]

My point being is you talk about all this safety insurance and in the same post you mention using drugs. Seems to me, the first priority is having a clear head and maybe half of that shit wouldn't be necessary.

It amazes me how many people take "breaks" on hikes OB. Yeah, rely on the beacon and your fucked mind to save your buddy that gets sent 500' down some mandatory air.

I wasn't necessarily attacking you, I'm just pointing out how stupid your "joke" (be honest, it wasn't a joke) was in light of the message you are trying to send (which IS important).

Bump
4
I could smoke a qp while tripping balls and my rescue and snow safety skills would still smoke yours
and a good thread dispite you and Skied battling to be the clueless cunt of the thread