basic beacon training

AH · 11-17-2006, 03:54 AM

I'm looking for a couple of 'do it yourself'-beacon drills and some easy to read and pick up advices on basic beacon usage. Anyone have any good info?

**Alpine Dreams** · 11-17-2006, 07:51 AM

Everything you need right HERE

**ski_adk** · 11-17-2006, 08:02 AM

Everything you need right HERE

Nice linky. Lots of great info in there!

**lemon boy** · 11-17-2006, 08:05 AM

Hacksaw has a great one:

find a nerf ball and core it out so a beacon will fit into it, turn on <- very important and duct tape in then while on a little hike turn around and throw it over your head down a slope. Then find.

**TeleHoar** · 11-20-2006, 08:21 PM

Summit, SPThompson and I ran into Hacksaw at Loveland the other day and we invited ourselves to do a little football beacon practice on the slopes. Hacksaw had his footballs with him and I was thrilled to have some one-on-one instruction from Hack himself.

See this thread as mentioned by LB above

The football and THE MAN!

He placed the football beacons in some handmade white bags and pitched them down the slope behind us. We set our beacons to SEARCH and off we went.

Although you could see the bags by eye if you looked for them, I just put my blinders on and focused on the beacon and the ski line.
I had always done practice from the bottom up, and this was the first time I tried skiing a pattern down a hill, searching for a flux line. We traversed back and forth across the slope till the beacon picked up a reading and then the hunt was on. We found the beacons pretty quickly, thankfully.

Summit in search mode:

We were able to do multiple burials with two footballs several times in two runs on Loveland's exhileration slope. This was a really neat way to get in a lot of practice in a shorter amount of time.

Hacksaw gave us some great tips, and I know shaved minutes off my time in a multiple burial scenario. His knowledge of the different beacons is impressive and I would encourage everyone to take some time to study with this guy. Thank you Hacksaw for allowing us this opportunity!

Going over the fine tune search:

The football beacon search is a great way to practice summer or winter!! Try it out with some friends today!!

**Chainsaw_Willie** · 11-20-2006, 08:32 PM

Pigs are very intelligent creatures, on par with a smart dog, maybe even smarter. Training your bacon shouldn't be difficult at all, it just takes consistency and patience though I'm not sure why you'd want to invest all that time and effort into something you're just going to eat eventually.

Oh, you said "beacon..."

**summit** · 11-20-2006, 09:09 PM

Another vote for the Hacksaw method!

More realistic than most beacon training, easier to arrange too! Also, fun!

**Hacksaw** · 11-20-2006, 11:41 PM

I have received a lot of good natured ribbing within the professional avalanche community about my Nerfball transceiver search method. I really don't care. Everyone who has actual tried it comes away asking me, "So, where do you buy a Nerfball?"

My only advice is, if you see a cheap old style used 457 avalanche transciever for sale, buy it!! And then buy yourself a Nerf football....

Avalanche safety instructors like myself, have been pleeding for folks for years to actualy go out an practice with their transcivers. With the "Nerfball Practice Method," its simple, fast, easy and very realistic to do transceiver practices.....

Cheers,
Halsted
PS: I'd like to thake The Avalanche Review for publishing my "First and ten beacon practice," article.....

**homemadesalsa** · 11-21-2006, 09:36 AM

Hacksaw are you trolling for a reply from me? Anyway you always have great appropriate and funny articles for us.

Thanks nerf-man- hope you get plenty of pie.

We are in the process of posted the previous year's lo-res pdf's on the AAA portion of the avalanche.org site. Have a look and download at will, folks. Or pony up $20 a year for a subscription, or become a member-affiliate or pro member- we are the professional organization of anyone who works in the avalanche field, from patrollers to forecasters to guides!

homemadesalsa
http://www.americanavalancheassociat...lications.html

**Hacksaw** · 11-21-2006, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by homemadesalsa

Hacksaw are you trolling for a reply from me? Anyway you always have great appropriate and funny articles for us.
http://www.americanavalancheassociat...lications.html

Couldn't hurt!

**Mcwop** · 11-21-2006, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by Chainsaw_Willie

Pigs are very intelligent creatures, on par with a smart dog, maybe even smarter. Training your bacon shouldn't be difficult at all, it just takes consistency and patience though I'm not sure why you'd want to invest all that time and effort into something you're just going to eat eventually.

Oh, you said "beacon..."

Hmmm, avalanche pigs. All you need is to ski with a pig, and make sure you have a pocket full of truffles.