78% of recreational beacon searches fail to find victim alive

[jbsleds]

I read that last night while reviewing the course material from the Utah State University Basic Avalanche course. Here's the actual quote from the material:

"Your life depends on how well trained and practiced your partners are. Statistically, your chances aren’t good. In 78% of cases, recreational users performing a beacon search fail to recover their buried partner alive.
These grim facts underscore the importance of avalanche avoidance and the importance of practicing rescue skills." (copyright 2008 Mike Jenkins)

The course is written for all backcountry users, not just snowmobilers, so I'm assuming the data reflects all "recreational" searches, not just snowmobilers.

Here's the link to the USU class. Thanks to Cat Woman for posting it and all the other good info on avalance safety!

http://ocw.usu.edu/Forest__Range__and_Wildlife_Sciences/avalanche-and-snow-dynamics

We're just getting back into snowmobiling and don't know a thing about avalanche safety. We've been reading the info on this forum, on the Canadian Avalanche Center and now the USU Course. We've also registered to attend training locally.

We have ridden in the Island Park area since 1975, and, like many of you, we know families who have lost members to an avalanche.

From what we've learned so far, we've made some decisions:

1. We have "zero" tolerance for being avalanched, so we will learn all we can about avalanche avoidance.

2. We will be fully prepared with training and equipment to assist in a search.

Snowmobiling is a great sport and we're enjoying being back in it again.

Have fun and ride safe!

 

[James T Kirk]

because 99% of people dont practice with their beacons anywhere near enough. How many of you can really find 2 buried beacons in snow in full gear in less then 4 minutes? If you cant you need to practice until you can.

 

[akstormin]

Interesting information and hopefully an eye opener for a lot of people. Although when looking at statistics you always have to consider what goes into them. For instance some 25% or so of avalanche victims die of trauma due to hitting things on the way down. Plus there are many burial situations that are simply unsurvivable due to terrain traps etc... I'm not trying to refute the numbers, just trying to put them in perspective. The fact is that a beacon, shovel and probe are absolutely essential if you are in avalanche terrain, but so is good training and good decision-making. You can have all the equipment in the world but if you insist on making stupid decisions on the mtn you will eventually end up dead.
You have 15 minutes or less to get organized, conduct a beacon search, pinpoint the victims location, and dig them a viable airway. Any longer and the survivability numbers start to plummet rapidly. So you need to be well trained, well practiced, AND IN GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION. We rarely talk about this last one. How many of us out there can jump off our sled run 20-30 yds up a steep slope in deep snow, conduct a beacon search, pinpoint the victim with a probe, and then dig like a freakin madman until you have a hole 6 to 8 feet deep that's big enough to get a person out of? All in less than 15 min, often in thin air around 6000-10000 ft? Everyone says 'oh I could do it if I had to' Really?? Many people here can do that, however there are plenty of people here who can't and some of them could be in your riding group.
Please do all the research, get the training, practice with your beacon, and lastly hit the gym.

 

[jbsleds]

Good reply

Thanks akstormin. Those are all good points. You are so right about the physical conditioning. I hadn't thought about that one. It's another factor that contributes to the success or failure of a search.

It's also looks like another one of the factors that underscores the importance of learning to avoid avalanche areas. The more I learn and think about all this the more I see the importance of understaning things like snow conditions and terrain so that we have a better chance of knowing where an avalanche might occur.

I can see that searching is the reactive solution. We all need to be fully prepared to do it, but the odds for success don't seem to be real good.

Avoidance is the proactive solution. Still not 100%, but the odds look better to me.

 

[akstormin]

jbsleds, I like how you think. Being proactive instead of reactive. You are right, the 100% sure way to never get in an avalanche is to avoid all avalanche terrain. However, that's not always practical and you will also be missing some of the very best terrain out there. The key is to know what constitutes avalanche terrain and then (here's the important part) know when its safe to be there. If you learn to avoid the really obvious hazards, hanging cornices, glide cracks etc.. and exercise good decision making about when to play on steeper slopes, you've already greatly reduced your risk.

The information out there can be overwhelming at times. But a good avalanche course will help you zero in on the really important stuff to keep you safe and you can add to your knowledge as you gain more experience with avalanche risks.
Good Luck and have a great winter.

 

[modsledr]

We assisted an avy awareness class earlier this season, and one of the most eye opening drills for the students was locating and digging out a burried backpack with a beacon in it.

I burried the pack at the bottom of a pile of snow that had been plowed from the parking lot. It was about 4-5 feet deep. The students did a beacon/probe search and found the pack in about 4 minutes. It then took them another 6 minutes to dig and find the pack...I then stopped them and said "ok...you just found a boot and the airway is another 6 feet down"...they all just stood there with a look of shock and realization that this victim would most likely be dead.

Good thread...education and avoidance is definitely the key.

 

[jbsleds]

That's what got us interested in avalanche safety

you will also be missing some of the very best terrain out there.

Absolutely! We've done a lot of riding over the years. But other than a few rides to the top of Two Top, it's all been at lower elevation on the trails, in the fields or along the river canyons. We'd like to see some of that higher country in the winter while we can still throw a leg over a snowmobile We just want to be able to help if needed and come home safe.

We're going to our first avalanche safety classroom session on Tuesday.

You all take care up there in Alaska. Spent some time up there in the 70's on a Coast Guard cutter. Great country!

 

[MVR]

An important tool that a lot of folks are missing is the use of their local avalanche forecasts.
The staff at the forecast centers gather a lot of info every day and compile it for our benefit. Learn to read and interpret the bulletin. Learn and understand the North American Avalanche Danger Scale.
These two tools used together will help you identify the terrain (aspects, elevations, and/or features) that you can expect to see avalanche activity on. These are just a couple of the tools that we need to have in our toolbox. Most courses are including these in their curriculum.

 

[jbsleds]

An important tool that a lot of folks are missing is the use of their local avalanche forecasts.

I agree. We've been learning to read and interpret them recently. In fact, we just bought 4 Ortovox "Check and Rides" this week. They are an interesting little tool. They serve as a memory device that allows you to take the most pertinent information from the avalanche report and carry it in your pocket. Then, as you ride during the day, you can take it out and consult it to remind you of the contents of the report.
I haven't read any reviews of them, so I don't know what folks think of them. But, for me, I've found that using it correctly forces me to carefully read and understand what the avalanche report is saying. That alone makes it worth the price for me.

 

[MVR]

That's great...anything that keeps your attention and helps you assess what the risk and conditions ACTUALLY are is a good thing!

Now if they would just invent something that would slap a rider when they switch their brain off and ignore red flags and warning signs...