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Required Equipment

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Required Equipment
 
 
Required Equipment
 
Shovel- The most essential piece of avalanche gear. Essential for digging out partners, digging pits, and performing stability tests Probe- A probe is most important for rescuing a partner and the only way to find a buried victim if they are not wearing a transceiver. Probes should be lightweight, collapsible and easy to assemble. Tranceiver- Allows you to find a buried victim by honing in on a signal emitted from their tranceiver. Each person in the party wears a transmitting beacon. When a person is buried all other members of party switch their beacons to receive. The Ten Essentials-No pack is complete, even for an afternoon out, without these items. Map- Use it not only to not get lost, but plan your route through the least avalanche prone terrain. Compass-Essential for route-finding, knowing slope aspect and slope angles Headlamp-Never know when you might have to stay out later than planned. Extra Food and Water- Essential. Important for maintaining energy and preventing hypothermia. Extra Clothes-It’s a cold, cold world out there. Bring enough to survive a night out Sunglasses/Goggles-Snowblindness and wind driven snow in your eyes isn’t cool First-Aid Kit-Bring tools and more importantly, know how to use them. Take a Wilderness First Aid or First Responder Course. Pocket Knife-Infinite uses, little weight Waterproof matches/lighter or even a small stove- Often the only source of water in winter is heating snow. If you have to spend a night out, a fire or at least some warm fluids will go a long way in preventing hypothermia Firestarter-It’s winter and it’s going to be hard to start a fire. Optional Items
Avalung- “This nine-ounce shoulder sling allows you to breathe fresh air directly from the snowpack and diverts exhausted, carbon dioxide-rich air away from your fresh-air intake zone.... The AvaLung II is proven to save lives.”-http://www.bdel.com/gear/avalung_ii.php Emergency Shelter- If you get caught in a storm or have to stop and wait out unstable conditions, you better know how to build a snow cave and brought some extra warm clothes. A few extra items will make this experience less dangerous and more comfortable. A space blanket is a cheap, light way to provide some extra warmth and keep moisture off of you. A bivy sack (literally a waterproof, or water resistant sack that you sleep inside of) is a little heavier but will add a lot of comfort and safety. http://www.bdel.com/gear/avalung_ii.phpshapeimage_9_link_0
Images courtesy Utah Avalanche Center
 
Copyright 2008, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. factcouraud. (2007, May 08). Required Equipment. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Free Online Course Materials — USU OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.usu.edu/Forest__Range__and_Wildlife_Sciences/avalanche-and-snow-dynamics/AvClass/Rescue/Required%20Equipment.html. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License
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