PSA: CO Front Range, Conditioning & Tour Recons

[galibier_numero_un]

There's a Facebook group you can request: "Denver Powderhounds" (https://www.facebook.com/groups/235493136790582/). I believe it's a private group (request membership), but linking there ought to tell you.

This Friday morning, they're doing a dry land recon of Butler Gulch. Nice way to build stoke and combine conditioning with info. gathering.

... Thom

[Hacksaw]

While you're out doing the dry land recon you might do some transceiver/beacon practice too.....

[Hacksaw]

You might consider using the Nerfball method. Below is what I presented at ISSW last fall.

Nerfball: Avalanche Rescue Transceiver Training Method.

As advanced as modern digital transceivers are people still need to practice in how to use their transceiver. Having realistic training in how to search with a transceiver builds skills. Good transceiver skills means confidence in doing a real search.
The Nerfball practice method with the new Nerf Bashball, is easy, simple, fast, cheap, and realistic. It is a great way to get in a lot of transceiver practices. With two or more Nerfball transmitters a novice or professional can quickly become skilled at multiple transceiver searches. The objective of the Nerfball practice method is to get folks out and doing a lot of transceiver searches. There’s no reason with Nerfball to forgo doing transceiver practice just because folks don’t have a partner or time to set-up a practice session.
Two articles about Nerfball have been published before. The first was in the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s newsletter The Beacon, in spring 2006. The second was in The Avalanche Review in spring 2006 issue. But, back then the articles were about using the Nerf Football. The new Bashball makes the Nerf practice method even more realistic.


With the shorter reception range on many digital transceivers it is critically important to conduct a proper initial search (i.e. how big and wide your zigzag search patterns are). Ideally, it would be great to have a different and realistic transceiver search practice session each time. I was thinking that it would be great to simply throw a transmitting transceiver over your shoulder, in order to hide the victim for solo transceiver practice. But, as tough as most transceivers are, it’s not recommended to be throwing them around. Finding a way to pad a transceiver would be the way to make this solo transceiver practice possible. The solution to this problem arrived to me one day while shopping at Target. Target and King Scoopers sell a small nine-inch Nerf football, for less than $10 in their toy department. A Nerfball is made of soft foam, suitable for indoor play. The nine-inch Nerf football is ideal for padding an avalanche transceiver. Here is how to make your own Nerfball transceiver practice ball.

Cut the football in half lengthwise, and then trace the outline of the transceiver you want to use with a marker. Then pinch the foam to rip it out. Do this until you make a form-fitting pocket for the transceiver. Then place the transmitting transceiver inside the pocket and use several large rubber bands to close the ball. But remember, make sure the transceiver is on transmitting and working, before you secure the two half’s back together. Then place the Nerfball inside a small stuff sack. Now you’re ready to use the Nerfball.
But, there is a drawback to using the Nerf football model. The football tends to end up lying on its side, rather than occasionally straight-up and down. In 2015 Nerf came out with the “Bashball.” The Bashball is hallow inside and has holes that allow for cutting an entry slot and putting a transceiver inside the ball. Place the transceiver inside a zip-lock plastic bag and then inside the Bashball. The advantage of this new “Bashball” over the Nerf football is that the transceiver inside the ball has more opportunity to end up in unusual orientations (i.e., vertical, etc.…) which makes for more difficult/unusual searches. I highly recommend the newer Bashball over the football.

Tossing the Nerfball over one’s shoulder down a steep slope helps the ball travel further away. Once you’ve thrown the Nerfball remain looking uphill and allow the ball a minute to “pinball” down the slope and to finally come to rest.

Essentially with the Nerfball you’re doing a transceiver search without the victim’s “last seen area” to start from. This is usually the most difficult sort of transceiver search for most folks, other than a multiple burial type situation.
Just like an on-snow search, you need to first acquire the victim’s transmitting transceivers signal. Since you don’t know the slide path boundaries in doing a dry land solo transceiver practice, figure your slide path to be at least 150’ wide (75 feet to either side of the spot you were standing when you threw the Nerfball). Once you have picked up the victim’s signal, you can then start to use your preferred search method (fluxline/tangent method or the older grid method).

Once you’re closing in on the victim, you may actual see the Nerfball. I see this as the only major drawback to the Nerfball practice method. But, you can complete your search and practice your final pinpoint search just above the Nerfball transmitter, even while it is visible and sitting on the ground. A camouflage pattern stuff sack is one way to make the Nerfball even less obvious, until you’re almost on top of it. Camo stuff sacks can be found in hunting equipment stores. Placing the Nerfball in a short white plastic trash bag can add to the camouflaging of the hidden transmitter for on-snow searches.

Conducting Nerfball searches on steeper ski resort slopes can be very realistic too. Pick a slope that has plenty of bumps and benches on it. Having to zig-zag back and forth over moguls while at the same time working with your transceiver is more realistic than doing a search in a flat Beacon Basin.