- by Pia Schröter-
We waited a long time for this year's winter. With the first heavy snowfalls, all the freeriders were immediately out and about in the open alpine terrain. The hunt for the first line in untracked fresh snow is on. Glittering white, untouched powder descents, masses of endorphins and your best friends eagerly rushing off to the next run. There's often not much time left to think about avalanches and lurking dangers. But even when there is generally little snow lying around, there is often still a high avalanche risk. And when it happens, everything goes so fast. Friends become lifesavers – or not. Sadly, I have already been in such a situation twice in my life. Once I was able to help myself, the other time I was buried myself and was dug out quickly enough by my mates. In an emergency, every minute counts. And even though the pros' reels and photos always look so cool and easy, behind them usually lies meticulous preparation and planning.
The right equipment
Good planning starts with the equipment. In the backcountry, an avalanche transceiver is an absolute must. It's not much use only switching the device into transmit mode while you're riding; everyone should master how to use their device, including when searching. Because only then can you help your friends and save lives in an emergency. Before the trip, check the status of your batteries (at least 60%) and practise using your avalanche transceiver as often as possible. I'm not a fan of hiring this equipment. Anyone who heads into the backcountry and can afford expensive skis and boards should also invest in their own transceiver – and master it accordingly. This naturally also includes a shovel (if possible made of aluminium) and a probe, so you can help quickly in an emergency.
Gear, clothing and rucksack
Especially when splitboarding and ski touring, it's important to wear the right clothing. Having organised splitboard camps for over 10 years, I can say from the participants' experience that cotton is simply not a good first layer and gets completely soaked. SN Supernatural Merino wear as a first and second layer keeps you warm and dries quickly if you happen to break a sweat on a strenuous ascent. Pack your rucksack sensibly, with food (healthy snacks), enough to drink, a shovel, a probe, a first-aid kit, and make sure your phone has enough battery at the start of the adventure. Of course, you should also check your splitboard or skis beforehand, retighten the screws and not forget to pack the skins.
Avalanche bulletin and tour planning
Every mountain sports enthusiast who moves through open alpine terrain should regularly check the avalanche bulletin for the region they're in. Find out where the locals get their bulletin. In Tyrol, for example, we look at https://lawinen.report/bulletin/latest or the Lawine Tirol app. It also makes sense to download the SOS EU Alp app onto your phone for emergencies. To properly understand the avalanche bulletin, you shouldn't look only at the avalanche danger level https://lawinen.report/education/danger-scale, but read the entire bulletin carefully. It's important to understand the structure of the snowpack and also to keep an eye on the weather of the past days and weeks. When freeriding, you should take into account the currently dangerous slope aspects and the rise in danger over the course of the day (especially in spring) when planning your tour. When planning, it's also important to be able to realistically assess your own strength and fitness – especially at altitude. At my splitboard camps I have often found that some people massively overestimated themselves, while others didn't trust themselves at all and then absolutely flourished outside their comfort zone. It's always good to have an emergency plan up your sleeve beforehand and to have already rehearsed how to organise an emergency with your friends. It's also good to find out in advance whether someone takes important medication or uses an asthma inhaler and where they carry it.
Let's go!
Both when freeriding in open terrain and on a tour, everyone sets their avalanche transceiver to transmit at the start. A transceiver check of all participants should always be carried out by one person from a distance of at least 10 metres, and of course the transceiver is already switched on during the ascent. Avalanches can release on their own or be triggered by other people at a different point on the slope. Both on the ascent and on the descent, safety distances should be maintained when conditions require it.
CHECKLIST
• Equipment: transceiver %, gear, food, drink, phone, first aid
• Avalanche bulletin: https://lawinen.report/bulletin/latest, Lawine Tirol app, SOS EU Alp
• Tour planning: route, terrain, time of day, emergency plan, organisation
• Transceiver on and check at the start of the tour – 10 m – ride one at a time
Scenario: avalanche. What to do when it happens?
When the avalanche goes off, everything happens very fast. At first you can often hear a dull “whumpf” sound. All those involved should make sure they themselves are not in the danger zone and, as best they can, watch the point where the casualty/casualties was caught and the point where they disappeared. Then it makes sense to follow the grid below without discussion:
STAY CALM AND GET AN OVERVIEW
• Who: is still here, who is gone?
• What: are there further dangers? Secondary avalanche, risk of falling, crevasses?
• Command: the most experienced person takes charge and gives clear instructions on who does what, divide up the tasks, no discussion!
• Make the emergency call: 112 international, 140 in Austria: “People, Problem, Place” or via an emergency app.
• Get probes & shovels ready
• If there is no further avalanche danger: switch off transceivers, phone to flight mode
PHASE 1: signal search
• Begin the transceiver search from the point of disappearance: primary search area
• descend the debris cone in a serpentine pattern
• until the first signal appears (40–50 m)
• with larger avalanches, several people go down the avalanche along the direction of flow at 20 m intervals and search
PHASE 2: coarse search
• Announce the first signal to the group: SIGNAL!
• Follow the directional arrows, fast at first, then more slowly
• Stop at 10 metres and announce 10 metres, slow down to 4 metres!
PHASE 3: fine search
• From 4 m, move slowly and kneeling on the ground / hold the device low, no longer swinging it sideways
• Keep moving in the same direction until the value increases again
• Then, without turning, move right and left until the lowest distance reading
• Mark the lowest point with an object / e.g. a ski pole
PHASE 4: pinpointing
• Stow the device in your pocket in search mode '
• From the marked point, probe in a spiral pattern at 25 cm intervals
• Hold the probe at 90 degrees to the slope / at a right angle to the slope
• Hit: leave the probe in place
• Start digging 1–1.5 probe depths below the marked point / on the downhill side
• 1 at the front, 2 behind or 2 at the front, several behind, take turns, dig flat!
• When you reach them: dig out the head first
• Speak to them, check the mouth and airways
• If no vital signs: CPR: 5 rescue breaths, then alternate 30 chest compressions, 2 rescue breaths
• If breathing, recovery position, emergency blanket, find a safe place, reassure them and wait until rescue arrives!
I find it very worthwhile to rehearse, above all, the use of the transceiver and the grid set out above as often as possible, to study the avalanche bulletin throughout the entire winter, and to train regularly for an emergency with your freeride buddies. It also doesn't hurt to take a first-aid course every few years, so you have the right moves down. Because if everyone knows what to do and stays calm while doing it, the likelihood of being able to save our friends' lives in an emergency increases. It also makes sense to take part in avalanche camps regularly and to team up with a mountain guide. Many mountain guides already offer “shared groups”, where you meet plenty of like-minded people. They explain the terrain during the ascent and you learn a lot about how to recognise dangers early.
I wish you lots of fun powder skiing and great splitboard & ski touring experiences in the mountains. Anyone who stays defensive reduces the risk of ever getting into such a situation in the first place. Stay safe out there & enjoy the mountains!
Your Pia Schroeter
credits:
Domi Tauber Photo / Mountainsandtheocean.com / Lukas Riedl / Tobias Tröscher
