PSA: When in the BC, ALWAYS bring your skins! (free stoke included)

[summit]

When we go out into the BC, we ski with a partner. We trust them to be there for us, and vice versa. We practice with our beacons (right?)


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We ski one at a time, safe zone to safe zone, staying in contact so that we can help if someone is in a slide or a treewell or...



It is easy and quick to go down to your buddy to help them. But you aren't always above them!



Sometimes we let each other down without thinking about it! I've been guilty of it: skiing out the gate or dropping the road lap without skins!

If your buddy is suffocating under the snow, how long will it take you to get to them? And how exhausted will you be when you get there?



You need to have a lot of energy to dig fast. It is supposed to be the most time consuming part of the rescue... unless you have to post hole or side step up the hill for 30 minutes. Or looking at some recent examples like Berthoud Pass, if you have to ride out to the road, then hitch a ride up and snowboard back down...

Let's say this beater (and very good friend of mine):


... were to crash or get slid up in that area over Shera's shoulder...



It's about 350ft of vert and 1/5 of a mile. Throw your skins on and haul balls, you should be there in about 5 minutes. How long would it take you to get up there by side stepping or post holing through 2 ft of pow? 15 minutes? 20 minutes? What if it was farther up the hill?

Here is an exercise to try next time you are out in the BC. At a safe point, try to side step up just 50ft of decent pitch. Then try it in the tight trees where there are tree wells!

Any of you could beat Greg Hill up 400 vert of pow doing the skins-alpine-bindings-shuffle if he was stuck side stepping!


It's a huge problem in some side country areas!

This is a message we have to get out to everyone from the bro-brahs with beacons-but-no-clue to the experienced chargers who have to do side country in DIN18 alpine bindings to stick their 70fters:

If you don't have skins/snowshoes, you get last tracks because it is easier for me to come up to you than you to come back up to help me.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the pics!


brosia

This is something I've been thinking about posting for a few years. This is not calling anyone out!

[samthaman]

good thoughts, thanks for posting this.

[Core Shot]

Wow, that is a great point, and one I have admittedly rarely complied with.

But, if it gets me first tracks, I am all for it!!

[Telekóptero]

x2. great to see some of those classic photos, Summit. thanks for putting this up.

[Flotsam]

Reads like a storybook. Good words, good advice. No reason not to carry skins, if you've got space for a shovel than you have space for the fuzz strips.

[tone capone]

This is great summit. I think about this alot while skiing our sidecountry. Definetly as essential as beacon shovel probe really. Sidecountry without skins, barely any safer than skiing alone.

[GBB]

A well done reminder for all of us out there.

[smitchell333]

Good advice.

The other thing we should keep in mind is keeping some sort of line of sight with your partner. If they get slid but you are 500' lower in the trees with no visibility of their line you will have no idea what happened, maybe you'll just think they skied down lower...

[mobygrape]

Good advice.

The other thing we should keep in mind is keeping some sort of line of sight with your partner. If they get slid but you are 500' lower in the trees with no visibility of their line you will have no idea what happened, maybe you'll just think they skied down lower...

well said. I have been guilty of this. Time to wise up.

[_Aaron_]

Nice dude. Thanks.

[couloirman]

Lookin deep out there buddy. Real deep.

[summit]

Good advice.

The other thing we should keep in mind is keeping some sort of line of sight with your partner. If they get slid but you are 500' lower in the trees with no visibility of their line you will have no idea what happened, maybe you'll just think they skied down lower...

Line of Sight, shouting distance, whistles, and/or radios! And a preplanned set of signals and protocolcs for each!

In fact, for shouting in the backcountry, we'd do better to adopt a standardized set of shouts that are not easily mistaken at distance!

I've seen people drop when tried to tell them not to. They thought I yelled to go!

"GO!" sounds a lot like "NO!"
"STOP!" sounds like "DROP!"
"DON'T GO!" = "GOOD SNOW!"
etc

Here is a system I picked up from one of my mentors:

"CLEAR!" = 1 syllable = positive (e.g. "I am in a safe zone, you may go." or "I'm safe, your drop looks good, and the camera is ready.")

"ZERO!" = 2 syllables, sounds very different = negative (e.g. "I beatered and have to pick up my shit before you drop." or "There's an assraping tree in the LZ, better not send it.")


You can preestablish something: "If I ski over there and say clear, it's good. If I say clear zero, it means I'm traversing back."

ZERO repeated is "oh shit help." Whistles can work like on the river.

Establish how long to wait if you can't hear. Cheap Walmart FRS/GMRS radios really are a godsend when you can't see/hear your partner (think couloirs and trees).

[CaCaw]

Great reminders, thanks. But in the in order to actually hear your partners signals, whistles, etc... maybe the girl in the multi-colored jacket should lose the IPOD.

[LaGrench]

Good post. Excellent thing to keep in mind.

[summit]

in the in order to actually hear your partners signals, whistles, etc... maybe the girl in the multi-colored jacket should lose the IPOD.

One earphone in, and she just put it in because we were at the bottom of that line getting ready to pole/skate out on a snow covered road. But in general, agreed: skiing in the BC should be done sans musica

[carvemeister]

I like it!! Thanks.

[cmsummit]

Great post and an excellent reminder, A. Thanks.

[jbski]

I literally explained this exact same point to a group today. Good post.

[Mantana1]

Well said. a good reminder to us all

[jondrums]

The best kind of PSA - one with great visuals. Thanks Summit!

[RootSkier]

I wonder how many of people are rocking sidecountry laps without any sort of touring binding.

[Loon]

Good post, Coms are important. heres a very basic system I think I learned in boyscouts.

1 whistle = where are you
2 whistles = I'm over here (come to me)
3 whistles = I'm in trouble

Certainly not the best in all situations. But is helpful in some if used properly.

[Jibbernaut]

good call, thanks for that

[The Duke of Hurl]

We've used FRS radios for years treeskiing. Some limitations on their utility though. Not a substitute for line of sight or shout.

Sample communication:

"Where are you?"

"In a tree well."

"Where?"

"In the trees we're skiing."

"Where?"

"Above you."

Etc, etc.

The Garmons have a locating feature if you both have them which is cool.

Another problem is when the rider in question can't respond. The blunt truth is most people would wait long enough to search for a person to suffocate.

Radios are a good adjunct but you still need whistles, partners, etc.

In terms of voice comm I've always liked intermittent "Hey-o!"s, the response being "Hey-o!" as in "I'm here having fun where are you." Seems to penetrate trees well without conveying a sense of emergency.

[SchralphMacchio]

"ZERO!" = 2 syllables, sounds very different = negative (e.g. "I beatered and have to pick up my shit before you drop." or "There's an assraping tree in the LZ, better not send it.")

Sounds like HERO!


thanks for bringing this up though. should be circulated to all the JONGs where resorts open gates.