Use of the Probe

In using the probe, we perform both a hasty search and a fine search. The speed on a hasty search is five times greater than on a fine search, although the latter is more precise.

• During the hasty search, one pricks the probe into the snow in front of the legs, and then takes a full step forward (about 27 in. or 70 cm).

• During the fine search one pricks the probe every half step (about 12 in. or 30 cm) three times in the ground, in front of each shoe and in between. One begins by pricking in the middle between the feet, then in front of the left shoe, and at last in front of the right shoe, followed by a half step and then middle, left and right again.

Ordinarily such a row of people working with the probe consists of ten to twenty searchers, who always work shoulder to shoulder. As soon as someone nudges something soft, the person should not push through, because it is easy to perforate a body with a probe. That’s why it is necessary to always use the probe with the right feeling. If you find a spot where you think you’ve felt something, leave the probe standing in the snow and begin to dig as soon as possible, very carefully.

Figure 12.14 Hasty search with probe.

(Adapted from Albert Gayl, Lawinen, Österreichischen Bergrettungsdienst, 1981)

Figure 12.15 Fine search with probe.

(Adapted from Albert Gayl, Lawinen, Österreichischen Bergrettungsdienst, 1981)

Avalanche Transceiver

All mountain sport enthusiasts should wear a working avalanche transceiver, also called avalanche beacon, under their clothes. This tool is a transmitter and receiving device that, when switched on, transmits tones. It works for about 200 hours on batteries. An avalanche beacon operates at 457 kHz and is specialized for the purpose of finding people buried under snow. The transceiver has to be switched on for transmitting before you go out. Always do a pre-trip check to ensure all transceivers in the group are transmitting. Following an avalanche, and if the holder of the transceiver wasn’t caught by the avalanche, he or she may switch the transceiver from transmit into receive mode, which will then search for signals coming from transmitter beacons of other skiers who may be trapped.

The original avalanche beacon was an analog single-antenna beacon that transmitted a pulsed signal as an audible tone to the user. As you approached a buried victim, the beeper tones became louder. There are also devices that emit a different signal as soon as you get close to the victim, or ones that use different sorts of LED lights. Most beacons currently being sold are digital, because of their enhanced ease of use and higher recovery rates.

Digital transceivers indicate the direction to the victim’s beacon as an arrow on the display and provide audio cues such as varying pitch or frequency. Some have a digital compass and free-flowing arrow to facilitate more exact direction finding. Other beacons can point to victims in all directions, including behind the user if the user is moving in the wrong direction. Some digital beacons are also equipped with a secondary, supplementary frequency, referred to as W-Link, that broadcasts additional details to other transceivers capable of receiving the W-Link signal. They have the ability to resolve multiple, complex burial situations by better differentiating individual transceivers and even to transmit and receive additional data, such as the wearer’s vital signs or identification.

Remember that an avalanche transceiver is not an “amulet for avalanches”—don’t consider it a preventive measure against avalanche burial—it is only a way to reduce the amount of time buried.

Figure 12.16 The dog handler must be able to use technical equipment, such as an avalanche beacon.

Transceiver Search Methods

Speed matters, so it’s vital that you understand your avalanche beacon and know how to use it. Each manufacturer provides detailed instructions on how to search quickly and efficiently using its technology—so practice using it regularly! There are two phases of the beacon search: the hasty search to obtain a signal and follow it to the location where the victim is buried, and then the fine search to get as close to the victim as possible.