...Avalanche Rescue...

STEP 1: SCENE SAFETY

You already have one person in a world of hurt--don't make it worse by exposing others to unacceptable hazard. If conditions warrant, that may mean putting off the rescue attempt until avalanche control work can be done. The rescue then becomes a body-recovery, of course.

This is a difficult decision which illustrates the immeasurable value of staying out of trouble in the first place.

Once you've determined that it is reasonable to attempt a rescue, post an avalanche guard who can alert everyone else if they spot impending danger. Agree upon a signal in advance (a shout, whistle, etc.) and an escape route for the party--perhaps dense trees on the left flank of the slide path.

Remember, time is critical! Don't spend time arguing over details. A rescue is best handled as a paramilitary operation--someone needs to be in charge. Often it will be the most experienced person in the group but regardless, this is no time for committee discussions.

STEP 2: MARK CRITICAL INFORMATION

• Where was the last seen area?

  Identifying this point could save you a lot of searching on it's uphill side and on either side. The victim will be buried somewhere within a cone that flows from this point down the fall line--they can't just transmigrate to another section of the slide path.

• Where was the person's entry point into the slide area?

  This point, combined with the last seen area and any surface clues, can help to determine a line-of-flow and a high probability search area.

• Was there a witness?

  Maybe you are helping out another touring party and didn't see the accident yourself. Hold onto the eyewitness! They can save you time and give you critical information like how many people you're looking for. If you have a big group, assign someone to keep track of this person.

• Are there any surface clues?

  The position of equipment on the slide path can help to determine the line-of-flow of the victim and his likely burial location. These clues might also actually be the victim.

At this point, it is also a good idea to quickly establish an entry and exit point and a "cache" area to leave any unneeded gear. Anything that is on the slide area is a clue--tracks in and out, equipment and clothing, piles of avalanche debris, etc. The rescuers should make every attempt not to confuse the scene. This extends to scents, as well. If the rescue goes badly, an avalanche dog may be brought in. Do not pee, spit tobacco or eat on the avalanche path or debris.

STEP 3: BEACON SEARCH

One lucky Montana guy! (1998):

No more than a few seconds should have expired to get you to this point. Everyone should now switch their beacons to "receive" and a beacon search should begin. You've all got an avalanche beacon and you've been practicing, so you know how to use them, right?

If the path is narrow and the searchers are skilled, one or two people can conduct a quick and thorough search of the entire path while the others get their beacons and shovels out. It is a good idea to limit your searchers if you aren't sure if the victim is even wearing a beacon. If he isn't, you'll need people high on the path to begin probing quickly. If they're all at the bottom, you'll waste time waiting for them to hike back up again.

Once you've picked up a signal, send more searchers and diggers to help. Probe for the victim, too--you don't want to dig right by him! If there is more than one buried victim the search should continue with as many rescuers as can be spared from the first recovery.

Clear the victim's head first. You can begin rescue-breathing and CPR while others finish excavating. People who have been buried in an avalanche get very cold and very beaten up--treat for hypothermia and traumatic injury.

I sincerely hope that you know how to do this--if not, I would suggest that you are operating on a severely misaligned perception of what backcountry sports are all about. Cancel your subscription to Powder Magazine and put the money toward a First-Responder course.

STEP 3: PROBING

If the victim was not wearing a beacon, prepare yourself for a miserable, cold, long and desperate exercise. It's called "probing".

The basic idea is that you poke long rods into the snow, hoping to strike the victim so that you can then dig him out--don't worry, if he lives to suffer a few dents and bruises he'll thank you. If you go about this randomly, expect to be there until the snow melts. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances.

1. Examine and quickly probe surface clues. If you find a glove, pull it out--it may have a hand attached to it;

2. Probe high-probability catchment areas: the uphill side of trees in the slide path, the outside of bends in the path, low angle areas of the path that have piles of avalanche debris in them, etc.;

3. Establish a line-of-flow using surface clues, then set up a probeline at the bottom of this line at the toe of the debris.

COARSE PROBING:

The purpose of a probe line is to cover the avalanche debris with a grid of regularly spaced holes. If you are precise in your coarse-probing, you have a 70% chance of striking a buried victim. If you are not careful and exact, the odds are much lower.

To conduct a coarse-probe line, space the probers out at 75 cm intervals (hands on hips, elbow to elbow). Someone needs to stand in front to give commands and watch the straightness and spacing of the line. Everyone should probe just ahead and between their toes and should probe and move on command, only. Some tips:

• Work uphill. Probelines headed downhill are hard to keep straight;
• If someone gets a strike, they should yell it out, then leave the probe in place. Send a shoveler to dig for whatever was hit. Give the prober a new probe so the line can keep moving (false strikes are not uncommon);
• A regular ski pole with the basket removed works better than nothing;
• At this point, you're still looking for a live person, so move quickly but precisely!
• Some probes are really long--just worry about the top 6 feet , for now.
• Mark the probed areas;
• If you have more than 10 probers, you may want to break the group into two probelines working different areas--big lines are hard to control;
• Use a guidon cord to keep the line neat, if you have one;
• If you probe all the debris and don't find anything, go back over it again--keep it up until you are sure you're looking for a dead body (1.5-2 hrs), then you can send someone for help and begin a fine-probe search.

FINE PROBING:

Fine probing is 95% accurate, but very time-consuming--it's for finding bodies, not living victims. Do everything the same, but have the line step forward one third as far and probe in front of both toes as well as in between.

Hopefully, someone will arrive with an avalanche dog before you have to do this for very long.