When was the last time you practiced with your avalanche beacon and probe?
If you’re like most people, the answer probably varies from “maybe last month” to “last season, once, when my skis were in the shop.” Or maybe you’re one of those never-evers. It’s always been on your to-do list, you just haven’t gotten around to it. Yet.
The thing is, practicing with your avalanche gear is one of the most effective things you can do to help save your partner’s life when the real thing tragically occurs. According to the Utah Avalanche Center, 93 percent of avalanche victims can be recovered alive if they are dug out within the first 15 minutes. But after that, the numbers drop precipitously. After 45 minutes, only 20-30 percent are still alive; after two hours, almost no one survives.
Liz King from the TCSAR Foundation runs through the Ortovox Mobile Avalanche Training Station near Teton Pass, hoping to never have to do the real thing.
Now imagine if that person under the snow is your best friend or spouse. Suddenly, running out of time is not an option. And since wearing a beacon is mandatory equipment for every backcountry outing, neither is not practicing.
In Teton County, there are beacon training parks at Snow King, Grand Targhee, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, where you can activate a system to find pre-buried beacons. But now there’s an effective tool that allows you to take your beacon training wherever you want, and Teton County Search and Rescue has added it to its avalanche training program.
The Ortovox Mobile Avalanche Station goes where you go.
The Ortovox Mobile Avalanche Training Station includes four to six beacon transmitters which emit the same signal as standard avalanche transceivers. The transmitters are roughly the size of a small Pelican case, weigh about a pound a piece, and are easily stowed within the Ortovox Peak 35 Backpack to transport to your chosen burial sites. TCSAR has used the program in the dark on steep terrain at Snow King, regional trailheads, and in residential backyards. It’s an ideal application for groups, parties, and team building.
One side of the transmitters is covered by closed-cell foam to mimic the feel of an actual probe strike. A remote control panel operates the system, and emits a beep during a successful probe strike. You can alternate which transmitter to activate, and whether to work on single or multiple burial scenarios.
TCSAR team members practicing their beacon search on Snow King Mountain above Jackson, Wyoming. Photo: David Bowers
“The greatest thing about this product is that you can easily take it anywhere, it lives in a backpack, and you can set it up by yourself in under 15 minutes,” says Liz King, Preventative Search and Rescue Manager for the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, which serves the Jackson Hole community by directly supporting the SAR volunteers, and building awareness and education for backcountry safety. “Having a ‘packed-and-ready-to-go’ kit that can do this is something that hasn't been available before. Tools that are mobile allow rescue practice to happen anywhere, and tools that are simple are more likely to be used because they aren't some grand project.”
In the end, it’s yet one more tool that can help save lives in the backcountry. Whether you practice with the new mobile training station, or with your friends in the backyard, the important thing is to train before you are forced, perhaps violently, into the real thing.
If you or your organization is interested in utilizing the mobile training station, please contact the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation. We’d be happy to talk you through it.
For media inquiries, contact TCSAR Foundation Communications Director Matt Hansen at matt@tetoncountysar.org.