Wearing Beacons all the time while skiing

[homerjay]

Just think how rad you'll look at apres!

Seriously, I've transmitted on huge inbounds dump days (like a 3-footer at Wolfie), and if I know I'm heading out of the gates into slide terrain, I'll obviously wear all the gear. Using pack/beacon/shovel/probe for an average day (even with sidecountry shots in the trees): overkill. But at least you look like a badass in the liftline.

I would just like to say that I'm reconsidering this statement after a near miss involving a miscommunication, a friend, a treewell, some waiting, and lots of worrying. Fortunately we had our gear w/ us and I realized that the gear we carried (which we don't usually carry in that area later in the season) was his only shot should he have not been able to free himself.

[El Chupacabra]

I never really thought about wearing a beacon all the time, but a few weeks ago, my office mate was buried and killed in a massive slide.

It was a climax slide... All of the papers from her desk and overhead storage cabinets let go at once and buried her about 2 feet deep. She wasn't beaping and I wasn't prepared, no probe, shovel or paper shreader, so all I could do was tape a few pencils together and start poking into the debris field. After 10-15 seconds, I realized it was hopeless and went down to the cafeteria for some coffee and a bagel. It was sort of strange coming into work for 4 days, seeing that massive pile of paper and knowing what was buried underneath. On the 5th day, something started stinking, so I called and asked to have my office cleaned. As they pulled her out, I couldn't bear to watch, so I went to the cafeteria. This time, I got some juice and a donut instead. Ever since that day, I've always been fully prepared 24/7. You just never know when freak accident could happen.

You, sir, are clearly not the most extreme skier in your office.

[crashnburn'd]

You, sir, are clearly not the most extreme skier in your office.

No, that honor would go to the guy down the office who told me that when he was younger he and his friends would hit big jumps and do spread eagles over each other. I bet they were all beaping.

[AltaPowderDaze]

I would just like to say that I'm reconsidering this statement after a near miss involving a miscommunication, a friend, a treewell, some waiting, and lots of worrying. Fortunately we had our gear w/ us and I realized that the gear we carried (which we don't usually carry in that area later in the season) was his only shot should he have not been able to free himself.

glad to hear you had the tools you needed. tree wells scare the crap outta me. i often use tight trees for uphill travel and nervously poke around as i go. eventually the tree bombs pack it down a little and i ease up on the twitching.

[The Suit]

II've set off small slides in bounds. There is no way patrol can ski cut/bomb every shot at JH. A guy got caught in a slide in Casper Bowl last year and fortunately he and his buddies had avy gear and got him out.

I don't usually wear a pack unless I'm skiing the headwall, casper bowl, the crags, or out the gates. If one of my friends or I ever got caught in bounds I figure we could at least have their location pinpointed and by that time patrol would probably be on scene. If its a big day, high avy risk I'll wear my pack.

I think SherpaStyle has it pegged. That Casper Bowl slide she mentions convinced my wife and me that our 8 & 10 year old daughters should wear beacons inbounds on potentially hazardous days. The runout from that slide came very close to an area that the local kids ski all the time.

[altagirl]

A few years ago, I spent 20 minutes that felt like about 20 hours extricating myself from a treewell. With Mr.AG and Rotney standing probably 50 yards away, and they couldn't hear my screams for help. I could hear them talking about a porcupine they saw up in a tree, carrying on a conversation and wondering where I was. Which I think was the most terrifying part - I knew they were close but they couldn't hear me at all under the snow. We bought whistles after that.

But what the hell. We all own them, why not wear them when conditions are even a little questionable?

[rossibandit]

This year I am going to wear my beacon inbounds skiing Fernie. There are two patrol huts (high elevation on the mountain) on the Timber and Lizard sides of the mountain and all patroll are packing all the gear when on duty. Even if they open an area, I am still skiing in avalanche terrain. If something slides inbounds, patroll can respond in minutes. I would rather take my chances with a beacon than the RECCO system. Sometimes conditions change pretty fast on a powder day or when it starts to snow, and it only can take a run or two before patroll closes an area on the hill.

On days when I hook up with friends for laps into fish bowl, I (and my friends) will be fully equiped.

[addict]

My beacon is on in the car as well when conditions dictate it.

Much easier to locate the car in the parking lot when it's transmitting. I used to just leave the headlights on but I kept getting flat batteries.

[big_pimpin]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the slide at A-Basin that killed someone on May 20th last year? That scenario pretty much proves that you never know when it is going to hit you. Spring Skiing inbounds? The rescue party started immediately, but it still took them 30 minutes to find the guy. Not to say that he didn't die from other trauma that a becaon would have helped with (the official report never said if he sufficated), but after even 30 minutes your chances are pretty much 0 regardless.

[Incompetent Boob]

I wear mine on any day that isn't dedicated to the park or groomers (those days when everything is ice and there is nothing else to do). I almost always ride with a pack with probe and shovel. Even when solo. Beeping when I'm solo is mostly about body recovery, so my family can have a proper funeral if it comes to that.

[bad_roo]

This concept of inbounds and out of bounds is something that us Euros often have difficulty coming to terms with. If you ignore those definitions and accept that ski patrol can only make safe a certain percentage of potentially dangerous terrain, it'll change the way you look at the ski area. Think of the groomers as snaking through a bunch of backcountry and you'll probably be safer. If you've invested in a beacon, wear it.

[AltaPowderDaze]

roo, that's the clearest thing i've heard on this board in a while. just a week ago at the bird we had atleast 4 skier triggered slides were no laughing matter. there's a lot of terrain to cover and during a windy storm the conditions change too quick for patrol to cut everything. they count on skiers to break up the slabs before they form.

in short, if you got one why not use it.

[nesta]

As I mentioned in post #28 in this thread, feel free to find out about the inbounds sz 3.0 natural in Fernie 060108. Really good time to be wearing your transceiver if you were skiing in the Lizard Bowl around 3:30 pm. The patrol bombs the living piss out of those start zones and closes vast amounts of terrain too, even with as little as 10 cm of accumulated snow after explosive control, yet people continue to bitch and moan that nothing's open, or even worse, poach the closures. Some even have the audacity to keep complaining about it after a huge avalanche rips into open terrain that any reasonable avalanche forecaster would have opened in the same circumstances. Hey, shit happens boys and girls, and usually when you're least expecting it to. Mother Nature is the last person you should be thinking you can fool. Again, if you own a transceiver, why would you not be transmitting at all times when you're out skiing? Batteries are cheap, life is not. Thankfully, no one was killed. The 100's of people who poached that same signline the day before should be counting their lucky stars right about now, and vowing to themselves never to poach a signline again, no matter how great the allure of powder. I wonder how many of them were wearing transceivers?

[davidof]

Think of the groomers as snaking through a bunch of backcountry and you'll probably be safer. If you've invested in a beacon, wear it.

A case in point:

Tignes Avalanche