Group under instruction during an avalanche awareness course
On tour, assessment of avalanche danger should be gained from gathering observed facts about the terrain, the snowpack, past and present weather, and from slope stability tests.
Ask yourself these questions:
What information do I have that makes me think this slope is stable?
What is the likely outcome for our group should the slope avalanche?
Do we have an agreed emergency proceedure in place if it does?
First, the good news is that, if the victim is alive after the initial impact, they have an 80% chance of survival if dug out in the first 12 minutes. But after that the news is not so good. It is thought that unless recovery is made within 30 minutes, an avalanche victim's chances of survival are less than 50/50.
The fact is that less than one-third of those buried survive, and this doesn't refer to deep burial. For those buried under less than 50cm of snow the survival rate is around 45%. At more than 2 metres only 1% survive, and below 3 metres…?
THE HARD FACTS
Here are some hard avalanche facts based on Swiss statistics.
Of skiers completely buried by an avalanche only 4 in 10 survive.
Over a recent period 1347 people were known to have survived partial or complete burial by avalanche. Of these:39% dug themselves out34% were dug out by survivors on the scene27% were recovered by rescue teams – but most of these were near ski resorts.
In that same period close to 1000 died – two-thirds by suffocation.
Best Practice
It is ‘best practice’ to:
avoid obvious avalanche danger
adopt safe procedures when travelling and, in the event of an avalanche, not to rely on others outside your group for rescue.
Rescue, if it is to be successful, must come from your own party, and speed is the all-important factor. Speed comes from planning, preparation and practice.
The Three Essentials
To maximise speed of rescue there are three ‘must have’ bits of equipment for every off-piste skier and ski tourer.
Transceiver – Owning one will not stop you getting caught in an avalanche, but if you are buried it is almost your only hope of being found – dead or alive. A transceiver is not a substitute for good practice, it is part of it. Route planning, route choice and constant avalanche awareness are the basic ways to minimise risk.
Every skier going off-piste or touring should have a transceiver. However, it is not enough to own one: you must wear it and know how to use it in an emergency. That skill only comes from practice, regular and realistic practice against the clock – remember the first 12–15 minutes are all-important. Get into the habit of turning your transceiver on when you put it on in the morning and leaving it on until you return in the evening. Never turn your transceiver off during the day to save the battery. It is all too easy to forget to turn it on again.
Powder Hound carving a head plant!
Having turned your transceiver on make sure you carry out a transceiver check both on leaving the hut and at other times during the day, especially after rest stops. Rather than standing around in a huddle and checking transceivers work when you are standing next to each other, get one person to ski away (say 30m) from the group with their transceiver in receive mode. Then one at a time the group members with their transceivers in transmit mode ski towards the person on receive. As soon as the person receiving picks up a signal they should signify it. This gives a good indication of signal strength, which seems to vary amongst different makes of transceiver. Someone should then check that the person on receive is also transmitting correctly. Everyone should carry spare batteries on a long tour.
Snow shovel – It is not enough to have one or two shovels in a group of four or six skiers. Everyone should carry an avalanche shovel. One reason why I like touring with North American clients is the size of their shovels! They carry big metal-bladed things that can shift snow fast, not flimsy things the size of desert spoons. This really is a case of size being important. Don't bother with tiny blades that attach to ice axes or ski poles that bend the moment they come into contact with hard snow. If you were buried what would you want your rescuers to use? A JCB!
Avalanche probe – Used in conjunction with a transceiver avalanche probes can quickly establish the exact position of a body before initial digging. For a final search or deep burial they are a must.
They are also useful for testing the snow structure by probing rather than digging once you know the snow profile on a given aspect. This can be particularly useful when on the move.
Avalanche probes being used to confirm a snow profile on a slope where a snow-pit had been dug previously
But it is not enough simply to carry these essentail tools, you have to know how to use them in an emergency. Practise regularly.
AVALANCHE BULLETINS
There is a wide range of information that can be accessed via telephone, fax and the internet during the ski season. The following list covers the major Alpine areas described in this book and will help you gather information before and during a tour.
France
Telephone: Dial International Code (0033) followed by 89 26 81 020 and the department number:
| Haute Savoie | 74 |
| Savoi | 73 |
| Isere | 38 |
| Hautes-Alpes | 05 |
| Alpes Haute-Provence | 05 or 06 |
| Alpes Maritime | 06 |
Website: www.meteofrance.com
Italy
Telephone: Dial International Code (0039) followed by (0461) 23 00 30. When phoning from outside Italy leave the 0 off the number in brackets (below):
| Valle d'Aosta | www.regione.vda.it/bollnivometeo.nsf | (0165) 77 63 00 |
| Piedmonte | www.regione.piemonte.it/meteo.neve.htm | (011) 318 55 55 |
| Trentino | www.provincia.tn.it/csvdi.bolletino | (0461) 23 89 39 |
| South Tirol | www.provincia.bz.it/valanghe | (0471) 27 11 77 |
| Lombardia | www.regione.lombardia.itmeteonew.nsf/home/valanghe | (0478) 370 77 |
| Veneto | www.arpa.veneteo.it/csvvdi/bolletino | (0436) 79221 |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | www.regione.fvg.it/meteo/valanghe.htm | 800 860 377 |
| Meteomont service | www.meteomont.sail.it/meteo/neve/htm |