A few cms of new snow here at G-1 this morning. We continue with honing shoveling technique today, following yesterdays post on avalanche probing technique. I mentioned how an avalanche probe strike tells you not only the location of the buried victim, but also how deeply they are buried. This is very useful information for beginning your rapid and efficient shoveling of the buried victim. Remember the ABCs of shoveling: A – AIRWAY. Protect the airway by shoveling downhill of the probe strike. B – BURIAL. For a probe strike less than 1m, begin shoveling immediately downhill of strike. For a burial greater than 1m, begin shoveling 1.5 times the distance of the burial depth. (Example: if the burial is 2 meters deep, then begin shoveling 3 meters downhill of strike.) C – CLEAR. Begin shoveling by clearing snow to the sides. Always to the side first, preserving the downhill side for use as the hole becomes deeper. D – DIG. Dig only once. It’s inefficient practice to move snow more than once. You need to move the snow quickly and efficiently from the hole site. Only with burials deeper than 2 meters should there be snow moved twice. Consider putting some or all of these techniques into your bag of tricks for avalanche rescue. This forum has a wide audience of guides, skiers, snowboarders, and specialists. Refining and honing technique is an ongoing process. The reality of an actual avalanche rescue is that things can become quite manic, and the more we practice beforehand, the more we are likely to perform in that manner during an actual rescue. How do I practice? When I shovel the driveway, when Im moving snow at work, when I have a slow moment and Im waiting near the snow with my gear. Place the probe, consider the depth, begin shoveling with rapid technique. What is fastest? What gets me to the strike quickest? It seems so simple, you just shovel them out, man. But, it can be refined, and those little seconds that you shave off your shoveling time could be the difference. Press play on the video below and gain a few more shoveling thoughts on having more than one rescuer. Let it snow. Remember you can check the snow forecast for Gulmarg here: snow-forecast/resorts/Gulmarg/snow-report. And here: https://meteoblue/en/india/weather-gulmarg. Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. -P. Petzoldt youtube/watch?v=v-PiGTbZceQ
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 02:56:33 +0000
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