idea
If taken in avalanche
- Yell (keep that for danger)
- Try to escape, build momentum and aim the sides of the bed, or if you're near the fracture try to climb up. Grab a tree if you can (at the beginning of the avalanche)
- Once taken, try to drop skis and poles. Keep backpack.
- When avalanche slows (before it stops!), create an air pocket:
- Reach across your face towards the pack strap of your other shoulder,
- burrying your head in your elbow
- raise your other hand to wherever you think up is.
- Exhale along your arm after you're burried, you will last longer
- When it stops, try to be as calm as possible to delay suffocation
When people taken in an avy:
- keep your eyes on the person. Remember where they get buried, people usually get pulled directly downwards.
- keep witnesses
- find a reference point.
- keep quiet
- designate a leader, the most experienced
- don't call for help, time is of the essence
- define a plan, then act. Make sure it's safe to go, define a path to go that doesn't expose rescuers
- all beacons on receive, turn phones off
- search: find signal, from edge of debris to edge, go in zig zag, 40m between parallels.
- coarse, induction method by following the magnetic field. Leave a clue where the first signal was found. Eg touque.
- when strong signal, start a grid pattern
- always probe perpendicular to the snow. They worry about not breathing so don't worry about hitting with probe or shovel.
- don't walk over the victim. Go downhill
- dig downhill from the victim, and horizontally. Use the v-shape digging pattern.