Finding avalanche victims goes high tech

Business Report Correspondent Spring often means flowers, baseball, outdoor sports and a general freshness in the air. But sadly, spring also can mean avalanches and death.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the most avalanche-prone months are, in order, February and March and avalanches caused by thaw occur most often in April. And Colorado leads the country in avalanche deaths. A CAIC report revealed that over the last 15 winters, 93 people in Colorado died from avalanches — and by a relatively large margin. The next state, Alaska, only saw 59 deaths in the same period.

?The number one reason people get into trouble is lack of education,? said Steve Christie, sales manager at Backcountry Access in Boulder, a company that makes avalanche safety gear. ?They simply don’t know what to be watching for.?

What mountaineering enthusiasts should be watching for, according to Christie, are these:

* Fresh snow on top of old snow;

* Snow that cracks, collapses or makes hollow sounds is also unstable;

* Inclines that 30 to 45 degrees (where most avalanches occur).

Over the last five years technology has made its way into avalanche safety and rescue to help save lives. One piece of technology that gaining in popularity are avalanche transceivers that transmit and receive signals between two people.

One transceiver made in Boulder County by Backcountry Access is called the Tracker DTS (digital transceiving system). It uses analog and digital technology with a transceiver designed to take the guesswork out of finding avalanche victims. Christie said it’s the industry leader among avalanche beacons in North America.

It uses both sound and a small screen to find someone buried in an avalanche. The sound becomes stronger and a readout of numbers becomes smaller as the rescuer gets closer to the victim. Christie said the screen helps rescuers determine both the distances and the direction of the victim.

?Older systems used only sound, but this has both the screen and sound,? Christie said. ?It has dual antennas and a microprocessor as part of DTS technology, and that makes rescuing faster, and it’s simple to learn how to operate.?

And faster is key in avalanche rescue. ?If you can find someone within 15 minutes, they have a 98 percent chance of survival,? said Christie.

The Tracker DTS retails for $299 at specialized mountaineering stores such as EMS, Boulder Ski Deals, Neptune Mountaineering and Mountain Sports. One does a user no good; a partner must also have a transceiver, too. So the $299 quickly becomes $598.

Gabriel Riley, a sales representative with Neptune Mountaineering, a sporting goods retailer in Boulder, said the Tracker DTS is the store’s ?most popular model.?

He said the other two models the store sells are made by Orthovox and are the F1 Focus and the M2. They go for $249 and $299 respectively.

He said sales of transceivers rise immediately following reports of an avalanche. ?Usually people come in and want transceivers or classes on avalanches right after something happens on the news,? Riley said.

Riley said transceivers have become lighter and easier to use and that has cause more people to use them but, he said the prices have remained ?about the same.?

?There’s just not enough of a market out there for manufactures to be able to lower their prices,? Riley said.

Aside from the transceivers, Christie said there are two other necessities for backcountry lovers: a shovel and a snow probe.

He said Backcountry Access has begun selling its Companion System, which combines both a shovel and probe. It includes a six-foot probe in the 11-inch shaft. Oval shaped fixed or telescopic tubes increase strength. The system has a reversible offset grip designed to make chopping and digging easier. The fixed length shovel is 27 inches and weighs 1l lbs. 8oz.

Christie said ?stash packs? are also a good item to have when in the backcountry. ?These are basically packs designed to carry avalanche safety equipment and water. It’s important to keep the equipment inside a pack because if you get hit by an avalanche and your gear is just hanging on the outside of your clothing or backpack it could get torn off and lost,? Christie said.

So who gets into trouble with avalanches most often? Look to insurance companies for the answer, according to Christie.

?You know how insurance companies charge more for males 16 to 30 or whatever? That’s who gets into trouble on the slopes,? he said. ?It’s the aggressive male.?

The activities often associated with avalanches? Snowmobiling, skiing and climbing.

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