Avalanche Awareness
Travel with considerate partners:
•
Cross potentially dangerous terrain one at a time.
•
Identify and practice stopping in safe zones.
•
Have an escape route in mind if the slope does avalanche.
•
Communicate with your partners before moving on to the slope.
When traveling in a group, be aware of the errors groups
typically make:
•
Recreating at an area that's been visited without incident before
and feeling confident in its stability.
•
Not speaking out or communicating concerns about a path
or slope, fearing conflict.
•
Being overconfident in the group's abilities.
•
Determination to reach a destination without re-evaluating terrain
and conditions.
If in doubt, it is always best to avoid questionable terrain and return
when the snow is stable.
If you are caught in an avalanche:
•
Yell "avalanche" and wave your arms to alert your group.
•
Deploy your avalanche airbag if you have one.
•
Try to escape the slide by grabbing trees or rocks or "swimming"
to the side.
•
Try to keep your airway clear of snow.
•
When you feel the slide slowing, thrust a hand upward in hopes
of it being seen.
•
Place your other hand in front of your face to increase the
air space.
•
Remain calm, breathe slowly and conserve your air.
Searching for victims:
•
Do not go for help! You are the victim's only chance of survival!
•
Establish a last seen point.
•
Confirm you are not in danger of a second avalanche occurring.
•
Look for visual clues to the victim's location.
•
Begin your signal search for the victim using your avalanche
transceiver.
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Thank you for choosing Tracker S, featuring Tracker's legendary
ease-of-use.
Remember, transceiver searches are only part of the avalanche rescue
process. It is equally important to practice the probing and shoveling
techniques found later in this section. For training videos on transceiver
searching, probing, strategic shoveling, patient care, and evacuation,
please visit www.backcountryaccess.com/education.
Transmit mode: From the 'Off' position, pull the sliding lock
direction of the arrow and turn the dial switch
the transmit ("TR") position (see Figure C).
Figure C
Top view of
Tracker S.
The battery life is then shown in the distance/battery power display
in Figure A.
After displaying battery power, Tracker S flashes "TR" and enters transmit
mode. The transmit light
l
flashes with every transmit pulse.
This light will not flash if the battery power is below 20 percent.
Note: the battery percentage is approximate. Replace batteries
reaching 40 percent. Batteries that were installed in the transceiver the
previous season should be replaced, as they can result in misleading
battery power readings.
When in transmit mode, the Tracker S cannot be turned to off or search
without pulling back the sliding lock.
Search mode: Pull the sliding lock
switch to the search ("SE") position. In search mode, the
display will periodically flash "SE" until a signal is detected.
Upon detecting a transmitting signal, Tracker S will begin to
display distance and directional readings. At distances of less
than two meters, the directional lights are no longer shown.
Return to transmit: When in search mode, the sliding lock does not need
to be moved in order to return to transmit mode. Simply rotate the switch
back to the transmit position. The Tracker will beep and flash "TR" before
it begins to transmit.
After 30 minutes in search mode, Tracker S will beep every two minutes.
After 12 hours in transmit mode, it will beep every two minutes. These beeps
are reminders that there has been no user input and Tracker S is still on.
Familiarization
n
in the
on top of Tracker S to
j
k
m
before
n
and rotate the dial
7