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avalanche-101.md

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Avalanche 101

  1. Feb 2018, by Klaus

Basics

  • the slope is less than 20° => no avalanche
  • when you see an avalanche and there was no one buried, let the rescue team know so they don't have to fly there
  • Tyrol Rescue team app - sends your location directly to Tyrol rescue team
  • Helicopter approaching
    • yes, it's me - 🙌 two hands up (like Y)
    • no, you're looking for someone else - 🕺one hand up, one hand down

Equipment

Do not ever go skiing offsite without proper equipment! The chances go rapidly down when you don't have any.

Time to rescue ⏳

  • with full basic equipment - up to 15 minutes
  • without probe - up to 26 minutes
  • without any equipment - up to 60 minutes ⚠️ !!!People usually die after 15 minutes under the snow!!!

Basic equipment (approx. 200€)

  • Probe
  • Shovel - metal, not plastic
  • Bacon - do not buy used ones, they are usually crap

Avalanche danger scale

  1. okay
  2. when slope inclination > 35° and there is a heavy load on a small area => keep distance when skiing
  3. when slope inclination > 30°
  4. don't go
  5. no way

Avalanche danger scale

After the avalanche

  • realizing what happened 1-2 minutes
  • call for help 2 minutes
  • localization
  • digging
  • resuscitation
  • keeping warm

Localization

  • first, run fast
  • when your bacon starts beeping, run slower for better accuracy
  • hold your bacon in horizontal level
  • when less than 5m close, go slowly
  • from 2m use X method to localize precisely
  • use a probe to find body in the snow
    • in 40cm spiral
    • at a right angle to the slope

Digging

  • dig horizontally to a place where the body is
  • dig in V shape
  • first, find a head

how to dig

Resuscitation

  • 30:2 - if it's someone we don't know, we can skip mouth breathing
  • 6cm deep - ribs are going to crack
  • be careful to push from top to bottom, not to the side

Myths

There is no avalanche in forest

Sure there is. It's even more dangerous than regular avalanche because of the trees! Only when the forest is so dense, it may be avalanche free, but that's very unlikely.

Professionals will take care of me

95% of people will die after 15 minutes in an avalanche. Average rescue team arrival time is about 15 minutes. Your best chance for rescue are the people with you!

Areas close to ski slopes are safe

There is not much difference between area next to the slope and some other in the wild. Both are covered with a fresh snow. Layers in areas close to the slopes may be disrupted because skiers cross them more often, but there is no guarantee.

Snow fence doesn't help with avalanche

They are primarily employed to minimize the amount of snowdrift on roadways and railways.