Rescue --practice because you never know...

[AltaPowderDaze]

practice to where you can find a beacon in 2 min or less. once you do that, take your training to a real slope (in stable conditions) and again try for 2 min location and 3-4 min recovery (full scale practice). the faster the better in practice. in the real thing you will have to think and go thru all the steps necessary to rescue your partner(s). do things quickly but properly. if you have to, slow down so you don't make a mistake. it takes a lot more time to come back up a slope than it does to search down. make sure and start your search from the exact last point seen. make sure it is safe to do so. if there are only two of you it does no good to have you both buried. going for help will only result in a body recovery. you are the rescuer and also the first responder which means you better have proper medical training that means cpr at minimum and some sort first responder training.


check your gear regularly and know how to use it.


a real life rescue is daunting and can mess with your emotions bad. i remember a lot of things going thru my head and then going into a training mode after i got my first beacon signal. i did what i could to stay calm until i was no longer needed. at that point it just hurts so bad. here is a link (bottom of page) to my rescue mistakes.


these links can say it better than i can:

Ten Mistakes in Avalanche Rescue

Click the rescue picture at bottom of linked page

Rescue Data/Tips