thies guy with there courses and avalanche bags and becons

[nytrocharged]

i think every on that has a sled should have a air bag to help people out and people are dieing left right and center cuz prices are just to high .i am so tierd of this and something needs to happen with this. courses should be a lil less exspencive. we all losta good friend last sunday up owls head and he could be alive today if prices on this equipment would go down come on guys this needs to change im not saying that this is going make every one live but they deserve a chance

 

[ctowles]

wow...you are an idiot.

first off... a frickin abs system is a ****ty plan b..thats all it is. when you resort to using it you have already made a stupid mistake and you are in trouble. i don't care how much it costs, etc. if you think an abs pack is the magic piece of gear that will save you from dying in an avalanche..guess again, the mountains don't care if you have an abs pack, avalung, etc. 33% of avalanche victims die of trauma anyhow. i suppose your magic gear will save you from coming in contact with a tree at 60 mph or getting swept thru a cliffband?

second...$150 for an avalanche course "that may help you" is too much money? how about the 10k for a new sled? most avi courses are 2.5 days long with 2 of those spent in the field digging snowpits and learning about how, when, and why avalanches happen. i don't know how much a weekend of your time is worth, mine is sure worth alot more than $25, i would imagine the same would go for a professional who has spent years learning the information to be able to teach that class. and to be quite honest, if you think that there is no benefit to taking an avalanche class...go right ahead, be a statistic. over 90% of avalanches involving people are triggered by the victims themselves. the reason snowmobilers are leading the ranks in avalanche deaths for 10 years running is that most snowmobilers are idiots when it comes to avalanche safety. i read these articles year after year...people riding without beacons, people highmarking 2 at a time, people hanging out in deposition zones at the bottom of slide paths. 2 days of knowledge probably could have saved most of these lives. wake the F up! the best avalanche prevention is knowledge. being blind to the hazards just makes it more likely that you will encounter them. so go ahead..think what you wish, but realise that your own ignorance just makes it more likely that you will make a bad decision someday. and it only takes a half second mistake to be your last.
chris

 

[sevenmacs]

Your right equipment isn't the answer it helps but knowledge is #1, Avy awareness in itself will save lives, backed up with training with your equipment. As for equipment costs are a little high but a good pack alone will cost $200 and if companies didn't make money on the products why would they develop them, I guess he thinks the government should supply them, if people start making better decisions some deaths can be avoided thats a fact, but some don't want to hear this kind of talk

 

[nytrocharged]

sorry guys i am just pissed of my buddy died and just stressed out about all the stuff going on i was just getting at that they should lower the pricing on the avalanche equipment so more people can aford it and at least they have a chance i have a abs bag and saftey classes but some people cant aford all the goodies

 

[inf306]

Books are great. Simple to use and very affordable.

 

[Big Twin]

I've been giving this some thought lately. Sleds today are getting us further each year. New and seasoned riders of all experience levels are caught in situations that could be potentially life threatening without knowing it. I personally have been sledding for 30 years, 13 in the mountains. Have large money invested in sleds, enclosed trailer, sled deck and all the frills. With all the money spent to go riding you can't put a price on a device to maybe save your life. Training, knowledge of the conditions in your riding area are paramount IMO. Lori and Randy Zacaruk (www.zacstracs.com) do one heck of a job to educate people to best be safe when riding. Yeah it all comes with a price tag but what is your life worth, or your buds, or your wife's, or your kids?? I ride hard and at the end of the day want to get home to the people I love! And they expect me to do so!

Maybe it's time local government legislate the mandatory requirement to posess a type of license that shows completion of an AVY Course and safe operation course? Maybe the sled manufacturers can support said action with a subsidy toward completion of said courses. Maybe with the purchase of a new sled, a beacon shovel and probes are part of the deal?

 

[500 CID]

If you can afford the sled, then you can surely gather the necessary funds for the avalanche course and equipment. Personally I would rather sit out for a few trips and put the money I saved towards training and gear than to take a chance without it. The prices haven't come down and aren't likely to any time soon, so you will just have to suck it up. If your friends can't afford it/won't do it, then adopt the strategy many of us already have, don't ride with them until they have the proper equipment and training.

 

[3times]

how much is your buddies life worth? how bout yours?

sorry guys i am just pissed of my buddy died and just stressed out about all the stuff going on i was just getting at that they should lower the pricing on the avalanche equipment so more people can aford it and at least they have a chance i have a abs bag and saftey classes but some people cant aford all the goodies

"nytrocharged" sorry to hear of the loss of your friend.! You just cant put a price on life Period! I just attended an avvy class this weekend in northern idaho, were 50-60 people present, 75% had the proper gear. There was over 250k in sleds and more than that in trucks & trailers at the trailhead when we hit the hills for the field portion of our avvy class. The price of an abs bag & proper survival/rescue gear is a piss in the pan compared to what all snowmobilers invest into thier riding equipment! Will say the same as the rest of the comments on here, dont ride with anyone if they dont have the proper gear and know how to use it! Any avvy awareness of training is better than none at all! I just entered the sport myself & have invested about $2500 in saftey/survival gear so far and still need more equipment, I dont cae what the goods cost if it'll help you survive or help a member of your party! The must have item is the beacon, "how the heck you gonna find em alive without one?" tell your friends, if they dont have one, you'll promise to find thier body in the case of a slide!

 

[vertical800]

I feel the same way you guys do with not riding with friends without the proper gear. They had shovel,probe,beacon but wouldn't spend for the ABS bag. I'm able to afford them but they couldn't/wouldn't so I got the three guys that ride with me regularly all one this year for my peace of mind. Drove me nuts them not having one but I did.

 

[daveteri]

I don't know how they could lower the prices of avalanche equipment much. It seems like there is a lot of technology involved and the prices seem quite reasonable. We all have probes, shovels, beacons and air bags. It seems like the biggest price comes from buying the sled, trailer, truck, and all the upgrades to the machines to get the most out of them.

 

[T-DAWG]

Education is everything!!!
A $40.00 avalanche class saved me from a slide last weekend in the Snowies.
We took Mike Duffy's class and then went to the Snowies. We found a hill West of Widow, and with the info Mike gave us we were EXTRA carfull and decided not to go very high because of the risk. We moved on and about 20 min. later the hill slid. I am POSITIVE without the training I would have went higher and triggered that slide.

$40.00 is nothing, $250.00 is nothing, $1,000.00 is nothing.

If you can afford a sled that can get you there, then you can afford the equipment to get you home!!!

Just get what you need if you are going to put yourself in that situation.

I am also very sorry about your friend. We also found 3 guys last weekend, that were lost for 3 days and would not have made it that night if we did not find them. They were not prepared to spend one night and they spent two nights but would not have made it through the third.

I can't stress enough just have the proper equipment.