Avalanche Gear

[Tyler's Backcountry Awareness]

Who has gone out and practiced with their avalanche gear?

I know that the summer is not the greatest time to get and use your gear but not doing so makes you rusty for the season.

A great way to practice with your gear is let someone in the household hide a beacon and everyone else has to find it before you can sit down for dinner. A house provides many great places to hide a beacon such as cabinets and even the roof. The roof is a great place to hide a beacon since you could be 10-18m away and that will be the closest you can get without getting on the roof. This simulates an actual burial situation where the victim will be under several feet of snow. Multiple floor houses work great as well to simulate the same situation if you don’t have easy access to your roof.

Remember the more you use you avalanche gear the better you will be with it when you really need it. Practice makes perfect in a situation where every second counts!





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[BigT]

Just bad mine out this weekend doing a little practice.
BigT

 

[SecureUrFamily]

First snow of the year this weekend which reminds me to practice. Will have the kids put it down stairs. Great idea as I don't want them to be climbing on the roof

 

[kevinm7]

Thanks for the reminder Brian. Your gear is no good if you don't know how to use it. Not only for you, but for your riding partners as well. If you ride with your family, then this is a great exercise. If you're like me, and your family doesn't ride, then you need to make sure your riding partners all know how to use their equipment. It might be you that is buried....

 

[1000-oaks]

You can also buy an old beacon on eBay and tuck it inside a Nerf football, then go out in the woods and throw it deep into the brush while your buddies have their eyes closed. Can also do it during the winter in snow, and the football will disappear into the snow. Take turns throwing and finding it.

If you get a super-old beacon, they have radio crystals which can be fragile, but the Nerf football is probably enough cushion.